



) 











UOliKliT TOOMBS, AT THE AGE OF 75 YEARS. 



EOBEET TOOMBS 



,^TATESMAN, >WEAKEJt SOLPfEl?, 
SAGE 



HIS CAUKKR IN' rONORESS AXI> <>\ TIIK IirSTINt;S — IIIS 

WORK IN THE COURTS HIS RKCoRD WITH 

Tin: ARMY HIS MFK AT H(»MK 



PLEASANT A. S'l'oVAI.L 



"The hliKitl wliich iiiiii^'kd at Cuwiifiis anil ut Eiitaw caiiiiot \m- kept at 
eiiiiiitv ftiiever." — Toombs. 



NEW YORK 

CASSELL PL'BLISllINU CO.Mi'A^Y 

104 & 100 Fourth Avenue 






Copyright, 1892, 

BY 

CASSELL PUBLISHING COMPANY. 



All rights reserved. 



THE MEBSHON COMPANY PRESS, 
BAHWAY, N. J. 



BeMcatton. 



TO liOIiERT TOOMBS DU BOfiE. WHOSE IXTEREST AXf) AID \VEIiE 

IXV.lLrABLE, A\D WITHOUT WHOSE COOPERATIOX THE 

BIOGRAPHY COULD NOT HAVE BEEX PREPARED, 

THIS WORK IS DEDICA TED BY 

THE A UTUOR. 



"There are courageous and lionest men enough in both 
sections to fight. There is no question of courage involved. 
The people of both sections of this Union have illustrated 
their courage on too many battlefields to be questioned. 
They have shown their fighting qualities shoulder to shoulder 
whenever their country has called upon them ; but that they 
may never come in contact with each other in fratricidal war, 
should be the ardent wish of every true man and honest 
patriot. " — Robert Toombs, Speech in U. S. Senate, 1856. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER 

I. Family, Boyhood, Life at College, 
II. At the Bar, .... 

III. In the Legislature, 

IV. Elected to Congress, 
V. In the Lower House, 

VI. The Cosipromise of 1850, 
VII. The Georgia Platform, 
VIII. The Campaign of 1852, 
IX. Toombs in the Senate, . 
X. The " Know-nothing " Party, 
XI. Toombs in Boston, . 
Xn. Buchanan's Administration, 

XIII. " On the Stump" in Georgia, 

XIV. The Campaign of 1856, 
XV. John Brown's Raid, 

XVI. The Charleston Convention, 
XVII. Toombs as a Legislator, 
XVIII. Election of Lincoln, 
XIX. Farewell to the Senate. 
XX. Toombs and Secession, " . 
XXI. Toombs as Premier of the Confeder 
XXII. Brigadier-General in Army of Northern Vir- 



ginia, .... 
XXIII. With the Georgia Militla., 



PAGE 
1 

13 

29 

43 

. 5G 

67 

83 

97 

107 

121 

129 

140 

144 

155 

169 

175 

. 186 

199 

205 

209 

222 

236 

277 



viii CONTENTS. 

rilMTKIt PAGE 

XXIW 'l"oi).Mi;s AS A FUGITIVE, 286 

X.W. Without A Country, 308 

.\X\I. CoMMKNciNG Life Anew, 315 

X X \ 1 1 . Days of Reconstruction, .... 324 

XX\ 111. Ills Last Public Skrvice, 337 

XXIX. Domestic Life OF Toombs, .... 353 

XXX. II IS Great Fault, 364 

XXXI. His Last Days 369 



ROBERT TOOMBS. 



CHAPTER I. 

FAMILY, BOYHOOD, LIFE AT COLLEGE. 

Gabriel Toombs was one of General Braddock's 
soldiers who marclied against Fort DuQuesne in 
1755. He was a member of the sturdy Virginia 
line wliicli protested against the dangerous tactics 
of the British martinet, and when the Enirlish re^- 
iilars were ambushed and cut to pieces, Gabriel 
Toombs deployed Avith liis men in the woods and 
picked olf tlie savages w^ith the steady aim and un- 
erring skill of the frontiersman. Over one hun- 
dred years later Robert Toombs, his grandson, 
protested against the fruitless charge at Malvern 
Hill, and obliquing to the left with his brigade, 
protected his men and managed to cover the re- 
treat of his division. 

This was a family of soldiers. They were 
found in the old country figliting Cromwell's army 
of the rebellion. 

Robert Toombs of Geoi-gia was fond of tracing 
his lineage to the champions of the English king 



2 ROBERT rOOMBS. 

who defended their sovereign at Boscobel. But 
tlie American family was made np of lovers of 
liberty rather than defenders of the King. It 
was one of the anomalies in the life of the 
Georo-ia Toombs, who resisted all restraint and 
challenged authority in every form, that he should 
have located his ancestry among the sworn royal- 
ists of the seventeenth centur}^ 

William Toombs, the great-grandfather of 
Robert, was the first of the English family to 
come to America, about 1650. He settled in Vir- 
ginia. Gabriel, who fought with Braddock, was 
the son of AVilliam. Major Robert Toombs, the 
father of the Georgia statesman, commanded a 
Virginia regiment during; the Revolution and reu- 
dered conspicuous service in Georgia against the 
British. Major Toombs came to Georgia in 1783 
and received a rich tract of 3000 acres of land in 
Wilkes County. This was their share in the 
award to distinguished soldiers of "the Virginia 
line." 

" They fought for their estates like feudal bar- 
ons," General Toombs used to say, when speaking 
of his ancestors, now sleeping in the red hills of 
Georgia. When he was asked after the civil war 
why he did not petition for relief of political dis- 
abilities, he declared that " no vote of Congress, 
no amnesty proclamation, shall rob me of the glory 
of outlawry. I shall not be the first of my name 



FAMILY, BOYHOOD, LIFE AT COLLEGE. 3 

for three centuries to accept the stigma of a par- 
don." 

The elder Gabriel Toombs in 1795 made his last 
will and testament. He commended his soul to 
God who gave it, and blessed his Maker for the 
worldly goods that he was possessed of. Distrib- 
uting his estate among his wife, Ann Toombs, 
and his six children, he expressly directed that his 
negroes and their increase must be appraised to- 
gether ; that they were not to be sold o.ut of the 
family, and that they should be " used in a Chris- 
tian-like mannei'." lie divided up parcels of land 
in Greene and Wilkes counties among his sons, 
Robert Toombs and Dawson Gabriel Toombs, and 
his four daughters. Gabriel Toombs died in 1801. 

When Major Kobert Toombs, the Virginia vet- 
eran, and son of Gabriel, came to Georgia to claim 
his award of land, he settled on Beaverdam Creek, 
five miles from the to^vn of AVashington. It is 
probable that he stopped in Columbia County, for 
he married INIiss Sanders, of that count}^ She 
died, leaving no children, and ]Major Toombs went 
back to Vi]'o;inia and married Miss Catlett. One 
son was born, and this lady died. IMiss Catharine 
Huliug was the third Avife. The Ilulings were 
also Virginians, and by this marriage six children 
were reared. Sarah, who finally became ]Mrs. 
Pope; James, who was killed by accident while 
hunting; Augustus, Robert, and Gabriel. 



4 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

^' Catharine Huling, tlie mother of Robert Toombs 
of Georgia, was a most excellent woman, of strong 
and exalted piety. She was of Welsh ancestry, 
a devout Methodist, and after accompanjing her 
son to college, and seeing him married, prosj)er- 
ous, and distinguished, died in 1848, when he was 
a member of Congress. Mrs. Toombs gave gen- 
erously of her own means, to family and friends. 
Robert Toombs proved to be a dutiful son. He 
visited his mother constantly, and carefully man- 
aged her propert}^ Finally he induced her to 
move to Washington, so that he might be near 
her. 

Robert Toombs was the fifth child of Robert 
and Catharine Toombs. He was born in Wilkes 
County, about five miles from Washington, July 
2, 1810. His brother Gabriel, who still lives, was 
three years his junior, and was throughout his life 
his close and confidential adviser and friend. 

Robert Toombs, in childhood, was a slender, ac- 
tive, mischievous lad, and it will be a surprise to 
those who remember his superb physical man- 
hood, to hear that at school and college he bore 
the nickname of " Runt." He was marked for his 
energy and vivacity. He was not precocious. 
Nature o-ave no sio-ns of her intentions in his 
youth. His development, physical and mental, 
was not rapid, but wholesome. He was fond of 
horseback riding, and the earliest glimpse wq 



FAMILY, BOYHOOD, LIFE AT COLLEGE. 5 

have of him is as a slender lad, with dark eyes 
and hair slightly touched with auburn, flying 
through the village, and sometimes carrying on 
his pony behind him his little brother to school. 

He was always in good health. He boasted 
that he never took medicine until he was thirty- 
four years old. His mother said that he grew up 
almost without her knowledge, so little trouble had 
he given her. He was a fine horseman. Possibly 
this practice had much to do with his good spirits 
and physical strength. 

In his younger days he rode sixty-five miles to 
Milledgeville, covering the distance in one day, 
and was fresh enouo-h to attend a dance at nio-ht. 
He delighted in fox-hunting, although never a 
racer or in any sense a sporting man. During the 
earlier years of his career he practiced law in the 
saddle, as was the custom with the profession at 
that time, and never thous^ht of ridini»; to court on 
wheels until later in life. Throughout his active 
participation in the Civil War he rode his famous 
mare, " Gray Alice," and was a striking figure as, 
splendidly mounted and charged with enthusiasm, 
he plunged along the lines of the Army of 
l^orthern Virginia. In his long wandering from 
capture in 18G5, he was in the saddle six months, 
riding to and from the wilds of northeast Geor- 
gia to the swamps of the Chattahoochee. There 
was something in his picturesque figure upon 



6 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

the horse which suggests John Randolph of 
Koanoke. 

His first trainino: was at what was known as an 
" okl field school," taught by Welcome Fanning, 
a master of good attainments and a firm believer 
in the discipline of the rod. Afterward, Robert 
Toombs was drilled by a private tutor, Rev. 
Alexander Webster — an adjunct professor of the 
University of Geoi'gia and a man of high repute 
as sdiolar and instructor, Mr. Webster was the 
friend and early preceptor of Alexander H. 
Stephens. 

Young Toombs was christened Robert Augus- 
tus, and carried his middle name nntil 1840, when 
he seems to have dropped it as a useless piece of 
furniture. There is a report that some of his po- 
litical foes, playing upon his initials, saddled him 
with the sobriquet of " Rat." Having out-grown 
one nickname he was prepared to shed another. 

Young Toombs proved to be a great reader. 
Most of his learning developed in the Humanities; 
and a cultured visitor from Maryland who once 
stopped at his father's house declared that this 
boy of fourteen w^as better posted in history than 
anyone he had ever seen. 

It Avas about this time that Robei't Toombs 
was fitted out for Franklin College — now the 
State University — located in Athens, Ga., forty 
miles from Washington. 



FAMILY, BOYHOOD, LIFE AT COLLEGE. V 

This institution, to which he was devotedly 
attached and of whose governing board he was a 
member at the time of his death, was chartered in 
1785 by the State of Georgia. It was the early 
recipient of the deed of western lands, which the 
State subsequently purchased, assuming the per- 
petual endowment of the college. It has been to 
Georgia what Jefferson's school has proved to 
Virginia, the nursery of scholars and statesmen. 
Governor John Milledge had given the institution 
a home upon a beautiful hill overlooking the 
Oconee Kiver, and this lovely spot they had named 
Athens. Here in 1824 young Robert Toombs re- 
paired, animated with the feelings which move a 
college boy, except that his mother went witli 
him and relieved hiin of the usual sense of loneli- 
ness which overtakes the student. Major Robert 
Toombs, liis father, who was an indigo and tobacco 
planter, was reputed to be a wealthy man for those 
times, but it was the comfort of the early settler 
who had earned his demesne from the govern- 
ment rather than the wealth of the capitalist. 
He had enough to support his family in comfort. 
He died when Robert was five years old, and the 
latter selected as his guardian Thomas A¥. Cobb, 
of Greene County, a cousin of Governor Howell 
Cobb, a member of Congress himself and a man of 
high legal attainment. 

When Robert Toombs entered colleire tliat 



8 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

iiistitiition was under tlie Presidency of Moses 
Waddell, a born educator and strict disciplinarian. 
Three generations of this family have served the 
State as preceptors in Franklin College. 

It may well be imagined that the college had 
not at that time reached the dignity of a uni- 
versity, for an entry in President Waddell's diary 
was this : " Caught Jones chewing tobacco : 
whipped him for it." Those were the old days 
when boys were boys until they were twenty-one. 
There is no record to show that Robert Toombs 
in college was a close scholar. Later in life he be- 
came a hard student and laborious worker. But 
if these industrious habits were born to him in 
Athens there is no trace of them. That he was a 
reader of Shakespeare and history he gave ample 
evidence in his long career, but if the legends of his 
colleo-e town are to be trusted, he was more noted 
for outbreaks of mischief than for close applica- 
tion. Full of life and spirits, a healthy, impetu- 
ous boy, he was on good terms with his class- 
mates, and took life easily. That was a time when 
students were required to get up at sunrise and 
attend prayers. 

One night, the story goes, the vigilant proctor 
actually found young Toombs playing cards with 
some of his friends. Fearing a reprimand, 
Toombs sought his guardian, who happened to be 
in Athens on a visit from his home in Greenes- 



FAMILY, BOYHOOD, LIFE AT COLLEGE. 9 

boro. It is not certain tliat yonng Toombs com- 
municated the enormity of his offense, but he 
obtained leave to apply to Dr. Waddell for a 
letter of discharo-e. Tlie learned but severe 
scholar had not received the proctor's report, and 
gave the young student a certificate of honorable 
dismissal. 

Later in the day the President met Toombs 
walking around the campus. 

" Robert Toombs," said he, " you took advan- 
tage of me early this morning, I did not then 
know that you had been caught at the card-table 
last evening." 

Toombs straightened up and informed the 
doctor that he was no lonsrer addressins; a student 
of his college, but a free-born American citizen. 

The halls of Athens are fragrant with these 
stories of Toombs. No man ever left so distinc- 
tive a stamp npon the place or gave such spicy 
flavor to its traditions. 

Among the college-mates of Robert Toombs at 
Athens were Stephen Olin, Robert Dougherty, 
and Daniel Chandler, the grandfather of the un- 
fortunate Mrs. Maybrick of England, and the man 
whose chaste and convincing appeal for female 
education resulted in the establishment of Wes- 
leyan Female College — the first seminary in tlie 
world for the higher culture of women. 

The closest of these com[)anionships was that of 



10 liOBERT TOOMBS. 

George F. Pierce, a young man like Toombs, full 
of brains and energy — even then a striking and 
sparkling figure. The path of these men com- 
menced at the door of tlieir alma mater, and 
although their ways were ^videly divergent, the 
friends never parted. Two of the finest orators in 
Georgia, one left his impress as strongly upon the 
Church as did the other upon the State. One 
became bisliopof tlie Methodist Episcopal Church 
and the other a Whig senatoi-. One day these 
men met, both in the zenith of power, ^^'hen 
Toombs said : " AYell, George, you are fighting the 
devil, and I am figliting the Democrats." 

Closer in friendship their hands clasped as age 
swept over their raven locks and stalwart shoul- 
ders. Bishop Pierce never liesitated to go to 
liobert T(.)ondjs ^vhen his churches or his schools 
needed money. Toombs would give to the 
Methodist itinerant as quickly as he would to the 
local priest. Wliether he was subscribing for a 
Catholic Orphans' Home or a Methodist College 
he would remark, as he gave liberally and freely, 
" I always try to honor God Almighty's drafts." 

Pierce and Toondjs had much in common — 
although the one was f idl of saintly fire and the 
other, at times, of defiant iri'everence. It was 
Pierce whose visits Toombs most enjoyed at his 
own home, ^vitli whom he afterward talked of 
God and religion. The good bishop lived to 



FAMILY, BOYHOOD, LIFE AT COLLEGE. 11 

bury the devoted Christian wife of the Georgia 
statesman, and finally, when the dross of worldli- 
ness Avas gone, to receive into the Methodist 
Church the bowed and weeping figure of the giant 
Toombs. 

When Robert Toombs became prominent in 
Georgia, there is a story that his State university, 
in order to win back his friendship, conferred 
upon him an honorary degree. Toombs is repre- 
sented as having spurned it vrith characteristic 
scorn. " No," said he, " when I was unknown 
and friendless, you sent me out disgraced, and 
refused me a diploma. Now that I would honor 
the degree I do not want it." 

There is no I'ecord tliat the college ever con- 
ferred a degree upon T(j()nd3s at all. Later in 
life he was elected a trustee of this university, 
and each year his familiar figure was seen on the 
stage during commencement, or his wise counsel 
lieard about the board. His attendance upon 
these duties was punctilious. He ^vould leave 
the courthouse, the le2:islative halls, or Vii'o'inia 
Springs — wherever he happened to be— and 
repair to Athens the first week in August. 
Once or twice he delivei'ed the annual address 
before the alumni; several times he secured 
appropriations for his alma mater from the State. 
His visits to Athens were always occasions of 
honor. Younix men flocked wherever his voice 



12 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

was heard, fascinated by his racy couversation. 
No " Disinherited Knight " ever returned to more 
certain conquest or more princely homage. 

There is a regular mythology about Toombs at 
his State university. The things he said would 
fill a volume of Sydney Smith, while the pranks 
he played would rival the record of Robin Hood. 
There is still standing in the college campus in 
Athens a noble tree, with the crown of a century 
upon it. Under its spreading branches the first 
colleo;e commencement was held one hundred 
years ago ; under it the student Toombs once 
stood and addressed his classmates, and of all the 
men who have gone in and out beneath its shade, 
but one name has been found sturdy enough to 
link with this monument of a forgotten forest. 
The boys to this day call it " The Toombs Oak." 





nOBERT TOOMBS, AGE 10, LAW t^TUDEJsT, UXIVEKSITY OF VIRGINIA, 1829. 
iFioin a miniature painting .) 



CHAPTER II. 

AT THE BAK. 

After Robert Toombs left the University of 
Georgia, he entered Union College at Schenectady, 
N. X., under the presidency of Dr. Eliphalet 
Knott. Here he finished his classical course and 
received his A. B. degree. This Avas in 1828, and 
in 1829 he repaired to the University of Virginia, 
where he studied law one year. In the Superior 
Court of Elbert County, Ga., holden on the 18th 
day of March, 1830, he was admitted to the bar. 
The license to practice recites that " Robert A. 
Toombs made his application for leave to })ractice 
and plead in tlie several courts of law and equity 
in this State, whereupon the said Robert A. 
Toombs, having given satisfactory evidence of 
good moral character, and having been examined 
in open court, and being found well acquainted 
and skilled in the laws, he was admitted by the 
court to all the privileges of an attorney, solicitor, 
and counsel in the several courts of la\v and equity 
in this State." 

The license is signed by William H. Crawford, 
Judge, Superior Court, Northern Circuit. Judge 

13 



14 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Crawford Lad served two terms in the United 
States Senate from Georgia. He had been Minis- 
ter to Paris during the days of the first Napoleon. 
He had been Secretary of AVar and of the 
Treasury of the United States. In 1825 he re- 
ceiv.ed a flattering vote for President, when the 
Clay and Adams compact drove Jackson and 
Crawford to the rear. Bad health forced Mr. 
Crawford from the field of national politics, and 
in 1827, upon the death of Judge Dooly, Mr. 
Crawford was aj)pointed Judge of the Northern 
Circuit. He held this position until his death in 
Elbert County, which occurred in 1834. Craw- 
ford was a friend and patron of young Toombs. 
The latter considered him the full j^eer of Web- 
ster and of Calhoun. 

Robert Toombs was married eight months after 
his admission to the bar. His career in his pro- 
fession was not immediately successful. A news- 
paper writer recently said of him that " while his 
contemporaries were fighting stubbornly, with ^\ary- 
ing luck, Toombs took his honors without a 
struggle, as if by divine right." This Avas no 
more true of Toombs than it is true of other men. 
He seems to have reached excellence in law by 
slow degrees of toil. Hon. Frank Hardeman, So- 
licitor-General of the Northern Circuit, was one of 
the lawyers who examined Toombs for admission 
to the bar. He afterward declared that Robert 



AT THE BAR. 15 

Toombs, during tlie first four or five years of liis 
practice, did not give high promise. His Avork in 
his office was spasmodic, and Lis style in court 
was too vehement and disconnected to make 
marked impression. But the exuberance or re- 
dundancy of youth soon passed, and he afterward 
reached a height in his profession never attained 
by a lawyer in Georgia. 

His work during the first seven years of his 
practice did not vary in emolument or inci- 
dent from the routine of a country la^vyer. In 
those days the bulk of legal business lay in the 
country, and the most prominent men of the pro- 
fession made the circuit with their saddle-ba^s, 
and put up during court ^veek at the village 
taverns. Slaves and land furnished the basis of 
litigation. Cities had not reached their size and 
importance, corporations had not grown to present 
magnitude, and the ^vealth and brains of the land 
were found in the rural districts. " The young 
lawyers of to-day," says Judge Reese of Georgia, 
" are far in advance of those during the days of 
Toombs, owing to the fact that questions and 
principles then in doubt, and which the lawyers 
had to dig out, have been long ago decided, nor 
were there any Supreme Court reports to render 
stable the body of our jurisprudence." 

The counties in Avhich Rol)ert Toombs prac- 
ticed were AVilkes, Columbia, Oglethorpe, Elbert, 



16 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Franklin, and Greene. The Lar of tlie Nortliern 
Circuit was full of eminent men. Crawford pre- 
sided over the courts and a delegation of rare 
strength pleaded before him. There were Charles 
J. Jenkins, Andrew J. Miller, and George W. 
Crawford of Eichmond County ; from Oglethorpe 
were George K. Gilmer and Joseph Henry Lump- 
kin ; from Elbert, Thomas W. Thomas and 
Eobert McMillan ; from Greene, William C. Daw- 
son, Francis II. Cone ; from Clarke, Howell Cobb ; 
from Taliaferro, Alexander II. Stephens. Across 
the river in Carolina dwelt Calhoun and McDuffie. 
As a prominent actor in those days remarked : 
" Giants seem to grow in groups. There are seed 
plats which foster them like the big trees of 
California, and they nourish and develop one 
another, and seem to put men on their mettle." 
Such a seed plat we notice within a radius 
of fifty miles of Washington, Ga., where lived 
a galaxy of men, illustrious in State and national 
affairs. 

In 1837 the great panic Avhich swept over the 
country left a large amount of litigation in its 
path. Bet^veen that time and 1843, Lawyer 
Toombs did an immense practice. It is said that 
in one term of court in one county he returned 
two hundred cases and took judgment for $200,- 
000. The largest part of his business was in 
Wilkes and Elbert, and his fees during a single 



AT THE BAR. 17 

session of the latter court often reached $5000. 
During these sixi years he devoted himself dili- 
gently and systematically to the practice of his 
profession, broken only by his annual attendance 
upon the General Assembly at Milledgeville. It 
was during this period that he developed his 
rare powers for business and his surpassing elo- 
quence as an advocate. He made his fortune 
during these years, for after 1843, and until the' 
opening of the war between the States, he w^as 
uuinterruj^tedly a member of Congress. 

There was no important litigation in eastern or 
middle Georgia that did not enlist his services. 
He proved to be an ardent and tireless worker. 
He had grown into a manhood of splendid phy- 
sique, aud he spent the days and most of the 
nights in careful application. He never went 
into a case until after the most thorough prepara- 
tion, where preparation was possible. But he had 
a wonderful memory and rare legal judgment. 
He was thoroughly grounded in the principles 
of law. He possessed, as well, some of that com- 
mon sense which enabled him to see what the 
law ought to be, aud above all else, he had the 
strongest intuitive perception of truth. He could 
strip a case of its toggery and go right to its 
vitals. He was bold, clean, fearless, and impetu- 
ous, and when convinced he had rio;ht on his side 
would fight through all the courts, wath irresisti- 



18 llOBERT TOOMBS. 

ble impulse. He was susceptible to argument, 
but seemed absolutely bliud to fear. 

The brightest chapters of the life of Toombs 
are perhaps his courthouse appearances. There 
is no written record of his masterly perform- 
ances, but the lawyers of his day attest that his 
jury speeches were even better than his political 
addresses. 

A keen observer of those days will tell you 
that Mr. Stephens would begin his talk to the 
jury with calmness and build upon liis opening 
until he warmed up into eloquence; but that 
Mr. Toombs would plunge innnediately into his 
fierce and impassioned oratory, and pour his tor- 
rent of wit, eloquence, logic, and satire upon 
judge and jury. He would seem to establish 
his case upon the right, and then defy them to 
disregard it. 

In spite of this vehement and overpowering 
method he possessed great practical gifts. He 
had the knack of unraveling accounts, and while 
not technically skilled in bookkeeping, had a gen- 
eral and accurate knowledge which gave him 
prestige, whether in intricate civil or criminal 
cases. He Avas a rash talker, but the safest of 
counselors, and practiced his profession with the 
greatest scruple. On one occasion he said to a 
client who had stated his case to him : " Yes, you 
can recover in this suit, but you ought not to do 



AI' TUB BAP.. 19 

SO. This is a case iu wliicli law and justice are 
on opposite sides." 

The client told liini lie would push the case, 
anyhow. 

" Then," replied Mr. Toombs, " you must hire 
someone else to assist you in your damned ras- 
cality." 

On one occasion a lawyer went to him and asked 
him what he should charge a client, in a case to 
which Mr. Toombs had just listened iu the court- 
house. 

" Well," said Toombs, " I should have charged 
a thousand dollars ; but you ought to have five 
thousand, f%Y you did a great many things I 
could not have done." 

Mr. Toombs was strict in all his engagements. 
His practice remained with him, even while he 
was in Congress, and his occasional return during 
the session of the Superior Court of the Northern 
Circuit gave rise at one time to some comment on 
the part of his opponents, the Democrats. The 
nominee of that party, on the stump, declared that 
the demands upon Mr. Toombs's legal talent in 
Georgia were too great to admit of his strict attend- 
ance to public business in Washington. When Mr. 
Toombs came to answei" this point, he said : " You 
have heard what the gentleman says about my 
coming home to practice law. lie ])roniises, if 
elecjted to Congress, he will not leave his seat. I 



20 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

leave you to judge, fellow-citizens, wlietlier your 
interest in Washington will be best protected by 
his continued presence or his occasional absence." 
This hit brought down the house. Mr. Toombs's 
addresses to the Supreme Court were models of 
solid argument. During the early days of the Su- 
preme Court of Georgia, it ^vas a migratory body ; 
the law creating it tended to popularize it by pro- 
viding that it should hold its sessions in the differ- 
ent towns in the State convenient to the lawyers. 
The court once met in the little schoolroom of the 
Lumpkin Law School in Athens. One of the 
earliest cases heard was a land claim from Han- 
cock County, bristling with points and. involving 
about $100,000 worth of property. A. H. Ste- 
phens, Benjamin H. Hill, HoAvell and Thomas 
Cobb were employed, but in this splendid fight of 
Titans, Justice Lumpkin declared that the finest 
legal arguments he ever heard were from the lips 
of Robert Toombs. 

Hon. A. H. Stephens said the best speech Mr. 
Toombs ever made was in a case in which he rep- 
resented a poor girl who was suing her stepfather 
for cruel treatment. The defendant was a preacher, 
and the jury brought in a verdict for $4000, the 
maximum sum allowed, and petitioned the Judge 
to allow them to find damages in a heavier amount. 

One of the most celebrated causes Mr. Toombs 
was engaged in before the war was a railroad case 



AT TEE BAR. 21 

heard in Marietta, Ga., in September, 1858. How- 
ell Cobb and Eobert Toombs were employed on 
one side, while Messrs. Pettis^rn and Memmino^er, 
of Charleston, giants of the Carolina bar, were 
ranged in opposition. The ordeal Avas a very try- 
ing one. The ease occupied seven days. Mr. 
Toombs, always an early riser, generally com- 
menced his preparation in this case at half-past 
five in the morning. The hearing of the facts 
continued in tlie courthouse until seven in the 
evening, and tlie niglits Avere passed in consul- 
tation with counsel. Attendants upon this cel- 
ebrated trial declared that Toombs's manner in 
the courtroom was indifferent. That, while other 
lawyers were busy taking notes, he seemed to sit a 
listless spectator, rolling his head from side to side, 
oblivious to evidence or proceeding. And yet, when 
his time came to conclude the argument, he arose 
with his kingly way, and so thorough was his mas- 
tery of the case, with its infinite detail, its broad 
principles, and intricate technicalities, that his ar- 
gument was inspiring and profound. His mem- 
ory seemed to have indelibly pictured the entire 
record of the seven days, and to have grouped 
in his mind the main argument of counsel. It 
was a Avonderf ul display of retentiveness, acumen, 
learning, and power. On one occasion, while a 
member of the United States Senate, he came to 
Georgia to attend a session of the Supreme Court 



^2 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

m Milled o;eville. He writes Lis wife : " I have liad 
a hard, close week's work. The lawyers very 
kindly gave way and allowed my cases to come 
on this week, which brought them very close to- 
gether, and as I was but ill prepared for them, 
not having given them any attention last winter, 
and but little this spring, I have been pretty much 
speaking all day and studying all night." In 
March, 1856, Mr. Toombs wi-ote to his ^^ife, whom 
he had left in Washington City, that the spring 
term of Wilkes court would be the most labori- 
ous and disagreeable he ever attended. Says he : 
" For the first time in my life, I have business in 
court of my own — that is, where I am a party. 
The Bank of the State of Georgia has given me a 
year's work on my own account. If I live I will 
m.ake the last named party repent of it." 

At another tiiiK^. he wrote : " I had fine weather 
for Elbert, and a delightful trip. Everything 
went well in Elbert with my business." It usually 
did. There was no count}^ in which he ^vas more 
of an autocrat than in Elbert. He never failed to 
carry the county in politics, even when Elbert had 
a candidate of her oAvn for Con stress. His leo^al 
advice was eagerly sought, and he was more con- 
sulted than any other man in Georgia about public 
and private affairs. The reason of his phenomenal 
success as counsel Avas that, united with his learn- 
ing and forensic power, he had a genius for de- 



AT THE BAR. 23 

tail. He was a natural financier. He used to 
tell President Davis, during tlie early days of the 
Confederacy, that four-fifths of war was business, 
and that he must " organize " victory. 

Durino; the sessions of Elbert court Lis ariru- 
ments swept the Jury, his word was law outside. 
His talk was inspiring to the people. His rare 
and racy conversation drew crowds to his room 
every night, and to an occasional client, who would 
drop in upon his symposium to confer with liim, 
he would say, with a move of his head, "Don't 
worry about that now. I kno^v more about your 
business than you do, as I will sliow you at tlie 
proper time." His fees at Elbert were larger 
than at any other court exce]»t his own ln^mc in 
AVilkes. It was during the adjournment of court 
for dinner that he would be called out by his con- 
stituents to make one of his matchless political 
speeches. He never failed to move I he crowds to 
cheers of delight. 

On one occasion lu? was at Tvoanoke, his ]>lanta- 
tiou ill Stewart County, Ga. He writes his ^^•il'e : 
" I was sent for night before last to a[)]>ear in 
Lumpkin- to prosecute a case of nmrder : but as 
it appeared that the act was committed on account 
of a wrong to the slayer's marital rights, I declined 
to appear against him.'" JVIr. Toombs was the 
embodiment of virtue, and the strictest defender 
of the sanctity of mari'iage on the part of man as 



24 ttOBERf TOOMBS. 

well as woman. His whole life was a sermon of 
23urity and devotion. 

Judge William M. Reese, wlio practiced law 
witli Mr. Toombs, and was liis partner from 1840 
to 1843, gives this picture of Toombs at the bar : 
"A noble presence, a delivery wLicli captivated 
bis hearers by its intense earnestness : a thorough 
knowledge of his cases, a lightning-like perception 
of the weak and strong points of controversy ; a 
power of expressing in original and striking lan- 
guage his strong convictions ; a ca]>acity and will- 
ingness to perform intellectual labor; a passion 
for the contest of the courthouse ; a perfect 
fidelity and integrity in all business intrusted to 
him, with charming conversational powers — all 
contributed to an immense success in his profes- 
sion. Such gifts, with a knowledge of business 
and the best uses of money, w^ere soon rendered 
valuable in accumulating wealth." 

Although Mr. Toombs often appeared in courts 
to attend to Imsiness already in his charge, he 
gave out that he would not engage in any new 
causes which might interfere with his Congres- 
sional duties. The absorbing nature of public 
business from 1850 to 1867 withdrew him from 
the bar, and the, records of the Supreme Court of 
Georgia have only about twenty-five cases argued 
by him in that time. Some of these were of com- 
manding importance, and the opinions of the 



AT THE BAB. 25 

Justices tanded down in that time bear impress of 
the conclusiveness of his reasoning and the power 
of his effort before that tribunal. Judge E. H. 
Pottle, who presided over the courts of the North- 
ern Circuit during the later years of Toombs's 
practice, recalls a celebrated land case wdien 
Robert Toombs was associated ao-ainst Francis H. 
Cone — himself a leo-al o^iant. Toombs's associate 
expected to make the argument, but Cone put up 
such a powerful speech that it w^as decided that 
Toombs must answer him. Toombs protested, 
declaring that he had been reading a newspaper, 
and not expecting to sjieak, had not followed Judge 
Cone. However, he laid down his paper and 
listened to Cone's conclusion, then got up and 
made an overmastering forensic effort which cap- 
tured Court and crowd. 

The last appearance Toombs ever made in a 
criminal case was in the Eberhart case in Os-le- 
thorpe County, Ga., in 1877. He was then sixty- 
seven years of age, and not only was his speech fine, 
but his management of his case w^as superb. He 
had not worked on that side of the court for many 
years, but the presiding Judge, who ^vatched him 
closely, declared that he never made a mistake or 
missed a point. 

It was during a preliminary hearing of this case 
that Toombs resorted to one of his brilliant and 
audacious motions, characteristic of him. The 



S6 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

State wanted to divide tlie case and try tlie princi- 
pals separately. Fatlier and sun were cbai'ged with 
murder. The defense objected, but was overruled 
by the Court. General Toombs then, sprung the 
point that Judge Pottle was not qualified to pre- 
side, on the ground of a rumor that he had selected 
the men of the Jury panel instead of drawing them, 
Toombs further argued that the Court was not 
competent to decide the question of fact. Judge 
Pottle vacated the bench and the clerk of court 
called Hon. Samuel H. Hardeman to preside. 
Toombs and Benjamin H. Hill, his assistant, con- 
tended that the clerk bad no right to appoint a 
Judge. Judge Hardeman sustained the point and 
promptly came doAvn,-when Judge Pottle resumed 
the bench and continued the case — Just the result 
that Toombs wanted. This case attracted immense 
comment, and in the Constitution of 1877 a pro- 
vision was made, growing out of this incident, pro- 
viding for the appointment of Judges ^;>r<? Jiac vice. 

He was a bitter enemy to anything.that smacked 
of monopoly, and during tlie anti-railroad agitation 
of 1879-80, he said : " If I Avas forty -five years 
old I would whip this fight." Still, he was an 
exceedingly Just man. Linton Stephens, noted 
for his probity and honor, said he would rather 
trust Robert Toombs to decide a case in which he 
was interested than any man he ever saw. 

During the last five years of General Toombs's 



AT THE BAR. 27 

life lie was seldom seen in the courtroom. He 
was sometimes employed in important causes, bnt 
his eyesight failed him, and his strength was visi- 
bly impaired. His addresses were rather discon- 
nected. His old habit of covering his points in 
great leaps, leaving the intervening spaces unex- 
plained, rendered it difficult to follow him. His 
mind still acted with power, and he seemed to pre- 
sume that his hearers wei'e as well up on his sub- 
ject as he was. His manner was sometimes over- 
bearing to the members of the bar, but no man was 
more open to reason or more sobered by reflection, 
and he was absolutely without malice. He was 
always recognized as an u[)i'iglit man, and he main- 
tained, in spite of liis infirmities, the respect and 
confidence of the bench and l)ar and of the people. 
Chief Justice Jackson said : " In the practice of 
law this lightning-like rapidity of thought distin- 
guished Toombs. He saw through tlie case at a 
glance, and grasped the controlling point. Yield- 
ing minor hillocks, he seized and held the height 
that covered the field, and from that eminence 
shot after shot swept all before it. Concentrated 
fire was always his policy. A single sentence 
would win his case. A big thought, compressed 
into small compass, was fatal to his foe. It is the 
clear insight of a great mind only that shaped out 
truth in words few and simple. Brevity is po\ver, 
wherever thou2;ht is strono;. From Gaul Ctesar 



28 nOBERT TOOMBS. 

wrote '■ Venij vidi, vici.'' Rome was electrified, and 
the messao-e immortalized. Toombs said to this 
Court, ' May it please your Honor — Seizin, Mar- 
riage, Death, Dower,' and sat down. His case 
was won, the widow's heart leaped with joy, and 
the lawj^er's argument lives forever." 



CHAPTER HI. 

IX THE LEGISLATUKE. 

WiiEisr Andre\\^ Jackson aud Jolm C. Calhoun 
were waging tlieir " irrepressible conflict," tlie 
county of Wilkes in tlie State of Georgia was 
nursiuo; discordant factions. Just across the river 
in Carolina lived the great Nullifier. The Vir- 
ginia settlers of Wilkes sided with him, while 
scores of North Carolinians, who had come to live 
in the county, swore by " Old Hickory." This 
political difference gave rise to numerous feuds. 
The two elements maintained their identity for 
generations, and the divisions became social as 
well as political. The Virginians nursed their 
State pride. Tlie sons of North Carolina, over- 
shadowed by the Old Dominion, clung to the 
Union and accepted Andrew Jackson, their friend 
and neighbor, as oracle and leader. The earliest 
political division in Georgia was between the 
Clarke and Crawford factions. General John 
Clarke, a sturdy soldier of the Revolution, came 
from North Carolina, while William H. Crawford, 
a Virginian by birth and a Georgian by residence, 
led the Virginia element. The feud between 

29 



30 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Clarke and Crawford gave rise to uuinerours duels. 
Then came George M. Troup to reeiiforce the 
Crawford faction aud defend States' Kiglits, even 
at tLe point of the sword, Troup and Clarke 
were rival candidates for Governor of Georgia in 
1825, and tlie Toombs family ardently fought for 
Troup. Young Toombs was but fifteen years of 
age, but politics had been burnt into his ardent 
soul. AVilkes had remained a Union county until 
this campaign, when the Ti'oup and Toombs influ- 
ence was too strong for the North Carolina faction. 
Wilkes, in fact, seemed to be a watershed in early 
politics. It was in close touch with Jackson and 
Calhoun, with Clarke and Crawford, and then with 
Clarke and Troup. On the one side the current 
from the mountain streams melted into the peace- 
ful Savannah and merged into the Atlantic ; on the 
other they swept into the Tennessee and hurried 
off to the Father of Waters. 

Robert Toombs cast his first vote for Andrew 
Jackson in 1832. He abandoned the Union 
Democratic-RejDublican party, however, after the 
proclamation and force Ijill of the Administra- 
tion and joined the States' Rights Whigs. When 
young Toombs w^as elected to the General Assem- 
bly of Georgia in October, 1837, parties were 
sharply divided. The Democrats, sustained by 
the personal popularity of " Old Hickory," were 
still dominant in the State. The States' Rights 



IX THE LEGISLATURE. 31 

Whigs, lio\vever, Lad a large following, and 
altliougli not indorsing tLe doctrines of Calhoun, 
the party was still animated by the spirit of 
George M. Troup. This statesman, just retired 
from puljlic life, had Ijeen borne from a sick-bed 
to the United States Senate Chamber to vote 
a'T^aiust the extreme measures of President Jack- 
son. The Troup men claimed to be loyal to the 
Constitution of their country in all its defined 
grants, and conceded the right of the Chief Magis- 
trate to execute the office so delegated, but they 
resisted what they believed to be a dangerous 
latitude of construction looking to consolidated 
power. Robert Toombs was not a disciple of 
Calhoun. AVhile admiring the generalities and 
theories of the great Carolinian, the young 
Georgian was a more practical statesman. The 
States' Rights Whigs advocated a protective 
tariff and a national bank. They believed that 
the depreciation of the currency had caused the 
distress of the people in the panic of 1837, and 
no man in this stormy era more vigorously up- 
braided the pet-bank and sub-treasury system 
than Robert Toombs. He introduced a resolu- 
tion in the legislature declaring that President 
Van Bureu had used the patronage of the govern- 
ment to strengthen his own party ; that he had 
repudiated the practices and principles of his patri- 
otic antecedents, and " had sought out antiquated 



32 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

European systems for tlie collection, safe keeping, 
and distribution of public moneys — foreign to our 
habits, unsuited to our conditions, expensive and 
unsafe in operation." Mr. Toombs contended, 
with all the force that was in him, that a bank of 
the United States, properly regulated, was " the 
best, most proper and economical means for hand- 
ling public moneys." Robert Toombs would not 
have waited until he was twenty-seven years of 
age before entering public life, had not the senti- 
ment of his county been hostile to his party. 
Wilkes had been a Union county, but in 1837 it 
returned to the lower house two Democrats, and 
Kobert A. Toombs, the only Whig. Nothing but 
his recognized ability induced the people to make 
an exception in his favor. Besides his re]3utation 
as an orator and advocate, Toombs had just re- 
turned from the Creek war, where he had com- 
manded a company and served under General 
Winiield Scott in putting down the insurrection 
of Neahmatha, the Indian chief. He now brought 
to public life the new prestige of a soldier. After 
this, "■ Captain Toombs " was never defeated in his 
coanty. He was returned at the annual elections 
in 1839, 1840, 1842, and 1843— and succeeded in 
preserving at home an average Whig majority of 
100 votes. He did not care for the State Sen- 
ate, preferring the more populous body, then 
composed of 200 members. Parties in the 



IN THE LEGISLATURE. 33 

State were very evenly balanced, but Mr. Toombs 
preserved, in the varying scale of politics, a 
prominent place in tlie house. He was made 
chairman of the Judiciary Committee by his poli- 
tical opponents. He served as a member of the 
Committee on Internal Improvements, as chair- 
man of the all-important Committee on Banking, 
chairman of the Committee on State of the Re- 
public, and in 1842 received the vote of the Whig 
minority in the house for Speaker. In 1840 the 
Whigs gained control of the government. The 
Harrison tidal wave swept their best men to the 
front in State and national councils. Charles J. 
Jenkins of liichmond was elected speaker of the 
house, and Mr. Toombs, as chairman of the Bank- 
ing Committee, framed the bill which repealed 
the law autlioriziug tlie issue of bank bills to the 
amount of twice their capital stock. He went 
right to the marrow of honest banking and sound 
finance by providing for a fund to redeem the out- 
standing bills, and condemned the course of the 
State banks in flooding the State with irredeem- 
able promises to pay. 

It was at this session of the General Assembly 
that Mr. Toombs displayed the skill and sagacity 
of a statesman in fearlessly exposing a seductive 
scheme for popular relief. He was called upon 
to confront public clamor and to fight in the face 
of fearful odds, but he did not falter. 



34 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Just before the General Assembly of 1840 
adjourned, Governor IMcDonald sent an urgent 
message to both houses calling upou them to 
frame some means for the speedy relief of the 
people. The situation in Georgia ^^^'^s very dis- 
tressing. The rains and floods of that year had 
swept the crops from the fields, and there was 
nuich suffering among the planters. Coming 
upon the heel of the session, the AVhig members 
of the legislature looked upon the message as a 
surprise, and rather regarded it as a shrewd po- 
litical stroke. Mr. Toombs was equal to the 
emergency. He c[uickly put in a resolution ask- 
ing the Governor himself to suggest some means 
of popular relief — throwing the burden of the 
problem back upon the executive. But Governor 
McDonalel Avas armed. He drew his last weapon 
from his arsenal, and used it with formidable 
power. He sent in an elaborate message to the 
houses recommending that the State make a large 
loan and deposit the proceeds in bank, to be given 
out to the people on good security. The Senate 
committee, in evident sympathy with the scheme 
for relief, reported a bill authorizing the issue of 
two million six-year eight-per-cent. bonds to be 
loaned to private citizens, limiting each loan to 
one thousand dollars, and restricting the notes to 
three years, with eight per cent, interest. 

The report of the House Committee w\a.s ])re- 



IX THE LEGISLATURE. 35 

pared by Robert Toombs. It was the most 
admirable and statesmanlike document of that 
day. Mr. Toombs said tliat deliberation Lad 
resulted in the conviction that the measure sug- 
gested by His Excellency should not be adopted. 
While his committee was daly sensible of and 
deeply regretted the pecuniary embarrassment of 
many of their fellow-citizens, he felt consti'ained 
by a sense of public duty to declare that he 
deemed it unwise and impolitic to use the credit, 
and pledge the property and labor of the whole 
people, to supply the private wants of a portion 
only of the people. The use of the public credit, 
he went on to say, was one of the most important 
and delicate powers which a free people could con- 
fide in their representatives ; it should be jealously 
guarded, sacredly protected, and cautiously used, 
even for the attainment of the noblest patriotic 
ends, and never for the benefit of one class of the 
community to the exclusion or injury of the rest, 
whetiier the demand grew out of real or supposed 
pecuniary difficulties. To relieve these difficul- 
ties by use of the public credit ^vould be to 
substitute a public calamity for private misfor- 
tune, and would end in the certain necessity of 
imposing grievous burdens in the way of taxes 
upon the many for the benefit of the few. All 
experience, Mr. Toombs went on to declare, ad- 
monish us to expect such results from the pro- 



36 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

posed relief measures, to adopt whicli would be 
to violate some of the most sacred principles of 
the social compact. All free governments, deriv- 
ing their just powers from, and being established 
for the benefit of, the governed, must necessarily 
have power over the property, and consequently 
the credit, of the governed to the extent of public 
use, and no further. And whenever government 
assumed the right to use the property or credit of 
the people for any other purpose, it abused a 
power essential for the perfection of its legislative 
duties in a manner destructive of the I'ights and 
interests of the governed, and ought to be sternly 
resisted by the people. The proposed measures, 
he contended, violated these admitted truths, as- 
serted the untenable principle that governments 
should protect a portion of the peojDle, in violation 
of the rights of the remainder, from the calamities 
consequent on unpropitious seasons and private 
misfortunes. 

He must have been an indifferent or careless 
spectator of similar financial schemes, JNIr. Toombs 
declared, Avho could persuade himself that this 
plan of borrowing money, to lend again at the 
same rate of interest, could be performed Avithout 
loss to the State. That loss must be supplied by 
taxation, and to that extent, at least, it will op- 
erate so as to legislate money from the pocket of 
one citizen to that of another. The committee 



IX THE LEGISLATURE. 37 



declared that it knew of no mode of legislative 
relief except the interposition of unconstitutional, 
unwise, unjust, and oppressive legislation between 
debtor and creditor, which did not need their con- 
demnation. 

The argument was exhaustive and convincing. 
Never were the powers of the State or the sound- 
ness of puldic credit more strongly set forth. The 
whole sclieme of relief was abandoned, and the 
General Assenildy adjourned. 

The relief measures, however, had a great effect 
upon the camj)aign. Eejected in the legislature 
under the rattling fire and \\ithering sarcasm of 
Toombs, tliey ^vere artfullv used on the hustino-s. 
" McDonald and Eelief " was the slogan. Men 
talked airily abont "deliverance and liberty." 
Mr. Tooml)s declared that '' humbuggery was re- 
duced to an exact science and demonstrated by 
figures." The Act compelling the banks to make 
cash payments was represented as an un\vise con- 
traction of the currency and a great f)pp]'ession to 
the people. Governor McDonald was consequently 
reelected over William C. Dawson, the Whig nom- 
inee. 

Robert Toombs was not a candidate for reelec- 
tion in 1841. He worked hard Tit the polls for 
the Whig ticket, and although his candidate for 
Governor received a majority of one in Wilkes 
County, the Whigs were defeated for the legisla-' 



38 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

ture. When lie returned to the Assembly in 1842 
he still found Governor McDonald and the Demo- 
crats supporting a central bank and the sub-treas- 
ury. They clamored to restore public finances to 
the old system. The Democrats held the legisla- 
ture and elected to the United States Senate Wal- 
ter T. Colquitt over Charles J. Jenkins. Although 
a member of the minority party, Mr. Toombs was 
appointed chairman of the Judiciary Committee. 
Here his high character and moral courage shone 
conspicuously. He proved a stone wall against 
the perfect flood of legislation designed for popu- 
lar relief. To use his own words : " The calendar 
was strong with a heterogeneous collection of bills 
proposing stay -laws." He reported as "unwise, 
inexpedient, and injurious," proposed Acts "to 
protect unfortunate debtors " ; " to redeem proi> 
erty in certain cases"; also a bill to "exempt 
from levy and sale certain classes of jiroperty." 
He held with Marshall the absolute inviolability 
of contracts ; he believed in common honesty in 
public and private life ; he was strict in all busi- 
ness obligations ; he denounced the Homestead Act 
of 1868, and declai-ed in his last days that there 
was "not a dirty shilling in his pocket." Mr. 
Toombs was nothing of the demagogue. He was 
highminded, fearless, and sincere, and it may be 
said of him what he afterward declared so often 
of Henry Clay, that " he would not flatter Nep- 



IN THE LEGISLATURE. 39 

tune for liis trident or Jove for Lis power to 
thunder." He was called upon at this session 
to fight the repeal of the law he had framed in 
18-40, to regulate the system of banking. He de- 
clared in eloquent terms that the State must re- 
strict the issue of the banks and compel their 
payment in specie. The experiment of banking 
on public credit had failed, he said. It had 
brought loss to the government, distress to the 
people, and had sullied the good faith of Geor- 
gia. 

It was at this session of the legislature that the 
Democrats proposed a vote of censure upon John 
McPherson Berrien, United States Senator from 
Georgia, for his advocacy of a national bank. Mr. 
Toombs ardently defended Senator Berrien. He 
said that the State legislature was not the custodian 
of a senator's conscience, and held that the people of 
Georgia sanctioned the expediency and utility of 
a national bank. AVhen the resolution of censure 
came u}) in the house, the AVhigs refused to vote, 
and raised the point of "no quorum." Speaker 
pro tern. Wellborn, who presided, counted a quo- 
rum and declared the I'esolutions adopted. Mr. 
Tooml)e fired up at this unusual decision. He 
threw himself before the Speaker with impetuous 
appeal and called f(^r a reversal of the decision. 
But it was a Democratic house, and the Speaker 
was sustained by a vote of 9G to 40. 



40 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Tlie craze for internal improvements now 
swept over the country. The AYliigs were espe- 
cially active, and we find resolutions adopted by 
the General Assembly, calling on the Federal 
Government to create ports of entry and to build 
government foundries and navy j^ards on the 
Southern seaboard. Mr. Toombs was chairman 
of the Committee of Internal Improvements, but 
his efforts were directed toward the completion of 
the Western and Atlantic Railroad. These en- 
terprises had overshado^ved the waterways, and 
the railway from Charleston, S. C, to Augusta, 
Ga., one of the very first in the country, had just 
been completed. Already a company had em- 
barked upon the construction of the Georgia Rail- 
road, and on May 21, 1837, the first locomotive 
ever put in motion on the soil of Georgia moved 
out from Augusta. A local paper described the 
event in sententious terms : 

This locomotive started beautifully and majestically 
from the depository and, following the impetus given, flew 
with surprising velocity on the road which hereafter is to 
be her natural element. 

The General Assembly decided that these rail 
lines should have an outlet to the West. This 
great road was finally built and operated from 
Atlanta to Chattanooga, and is still owned by the 
State, a monument to the sagacity and persistency 
of Toombs and his associates in 1840. The great 



IN THE LEGISLATURE. 41 

possibilities of these iron highways opened the 
eyes of the statesmen of that day, Mr. Calhoun 
seemed to drop for a time his philosophical studies 
of States and slavery and to dream of railroads 
and commercial greatness. He proposed the con- 
nection of the Atlantic Ocean with the Mississippi 
River and the great AYest, through Cumberland 
Gap — a brilliant and feasible scheme. Governor 
Gilmer of Georgia declared in his message that 
these projected roads " w^ould add new bonds to 
the Union." But King Cotton, with his millions 
in serfdom, issued his imperial decrees, and not 
even this great railroad development could keep 
down the tremendous tragedy of the centuiy. 

One of the measures to which Mr. Toombs de- 
voted great attention during his legislative term 
was the establishment of a State Supreme Court. 
This bill was several times defeated, but finally 
in 1843 passed the house by a vote of 88 to 86. 
It was the scene of many of his forensic triumphs. 
He also introduced, during the sessions of 1842 
and 1S43, bills to abolish suretyship in Georgia. 
This system had been severely abused In the 
flush times men indorsed without stint, and 
then during the j)anic of 1837 "reaped the whirl- 
wind." Fortunes were swept away, individual 
ci'edit ruined, and families brought to beggary by 
this reckless system of surety. What a man 
seldom refused to do for another, Mr. Toombs 



42 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

strove to reacli by law. But the system liad be- 
come too firmly intreuclied in tlie liDancial habits 
of the people. His bill, which he distinctly stated 
was to apply alone to futnre and not past con- 
tracts, only commanded a small minority of votes. 
It was looked npon as an abridgment of personal 
liberty. Mr. Toombs exerted all of his efforts in 
behalf of this bill, and it became quite an issue in 
Georgia. It is not a little strange that when 
Robert Toombs was dead, it was found that his 
own estate was involved by a series of indorse- 
ments which he had given in Atlanta to the 
Kimball House Company. Had he maintained 
the activity of his younger days, he ^vould prob- 
ably have turned this deal into a profitable invest- 
ment. The complication was hnally arranged, 
but his large property came near being swept 
away under the same system of surety he had 
striven to abolish. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ELECTED TO CONGKESS. 

Exteri]S'Ct public life about tlie same time, liv- 
ing a short distance apart, professing the same 
political principles, practicing in the same courts 
of law, were Alexander H. Stephens of Taliaferro 
and Robert Toombs of Wilkes. Entirely unlike 
in physical organism and mental make-up, differ- 
ino; entirely in ori2;in and views of life, these two 
men were close personal friends, and throughout 
an eventful period of more than half a century, 
preserved an affectionate regard for each other. 

Mr. Stephens was delicate, sensitive, conserva- 
tive, and sagacious, while Toc^mbs was impetuous, 
overpowering, defiant, and masterful. Stephens 
was small, swarthy, fragile, while Toondxs was 
leonine, full-l)looded, and majestic. And yet in 
peace and war tliese two men walked hand in 
hand, and the last public appearance of Robert 
Toombs was when, bent and ^^•eeping, he bowed 
his gray head at the coffin and pronounced the 
funeral oration over Alexander Stephens. 

In the General Asseml)ly of 1843, Robert 
Toombs was a membei- of the house, but his 

43 



44 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

ability and power had marked liim as a candidate 
for Congress, and Mr. Stephens had ah'eady been 
promoted from tlie State Senate to a seat in the 
national legislature at Washington. The law re- 
quiring the State to choose congressmen on the 
district plan had been passed, and the General 
Assembly was then engaged in laying olf the 
counties into congressional districts. The bill, as 
first reported, included the counties of AVilkes and 
Taliaferro in the second district of Georgia. Here 
was a problem. Toombs and Stephens had been 
named as Whig candidates for the Clay campaign 
of 1844. To have them clash would have been to 
deprive the State of their tidents in the national 
councils. It would be interesting to speculate as 
to what would have been the result had these 
t^vo men been opposed. Stephens ^vas naturally 
a Union man, and was no very ardent advocate of 
slavery. Toombs inherited the traditions of the 
Virginia landowners. It is not improbable that 
the firmness of the one would have been a foil for 
the fire of the other. History might have been 
written differently had not the conference com- 
mittee in the Georo-ia Lesjislature in 1843 altered 
the schedule of districts, placing Taliaferro in the 
Seventh and Wilkes in the eighth Congressional 
district. Both Avere safely Whig, and the future 
Vice-President and premier of the Southern Con- 
federacy now prepared for the canvass which was 



ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 45 

to plunge them into tlieir duties as members of the 
national Congress. 

Robert Toombs had already made his appear- 
ance in national politics in 1840. Although still 
a member of the Georgia Legislature, he took a 
deep interest in the success of the Whig ticket for 
President. His power as a stump speaker was 
felt in eastern Georgia, where the people gathered 
at the " log cabin and .hard cider " campaigns. 
The most daring feat of young Toombs, just 
thirty years old, was in crossing the Savannah 
River and meeting George McDuffie, the great 
Democrat of South Carolina, then in the zenith 
of his fame. An eye-witness of this contest be- 
tween the champions of Van Buren and Harrison 
declared that McDuffie was " harnessed lightning" 
himself. He was a nervous, impassioned speaker. 
When the rash young Georgian crossed over to 
Willington, S. C, to meet the Hon in his den, 
Toombs rode horseback, and it was noticed that 
his shirt front was stained witli tobacco juice, and 
yet Toombs was a remarkal)ly handsome man. 
"Genius sat upon his brow, and his eyes Avere as 
black as death and bigger than an ox's." His 
presence captivated even the idolators of Mc- 
Duffie. His argument and invective, his over- 
powering eloquence, linger in the memory of old 
men now. McDuffie said of him: "I have heard 
John Randol])h of Roanoke, and met Burgess of 



46 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Rhode IsLiiid, but tliis wild Georgian is a Mira- 
beau." 

In 1844 Robert Toombs was a delegate to tbe 
Baltimore convention wliicli nominated Henry 
Clay, and during this visit lie made a speech in 
New York which attracted wide attention. It 
threatened to raise a storm about his head in 
Georgia. In his speech he aiTaigned Mr. Calhoun 
for writing; his " suijar letter " to Louisiana, and 
for saying that he ^vould protect sugar because it 
was the production of slave labor. Mr. Toombs 
declared : " If any discrimination is made between 
free and slave labor it ouo-ht to be in favor of free 
labor." " But," said he, " the Whigs of Geoi'gia 
want no such partial protection as Mr. Calhoun of- 
fers ; they want })rotection for all classes of labor 
and home industry. The AVhigs protest against 
these efforts to prejudice the South against the 
North, or the North against the South. They have 
a common interest as well as a common history* 
The blood that was mingled at Yorktown and at 
Eutaw cannot be kept at enmity forever. The 
AVhigs of Bunker Hill are the same as the AVhigs 
of Georgia." Mr. Toombs was actually charged 
in this campaign with being an Abolitionist. He 
was accused of saying in a speech at Mallorysville, 
Ga., during the Harrison campaign, that slavery 
was " a moral and political evil." This was now 
brought up against him. Mr. Toombs admitted 



ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 47 

saying that slaveiy was a political evil. He wrote 
a rino-ino; letter to his constituents, in which he de. 
clared that " the affected fear and pretended sus- 
picion of a part of the Democratic press in relation 
to my views are well understood by the people. 
I have no language to express my scorn and con- 
tempt for the whole cre^v. I have no other reply 
to make to these common sewei's of filth and false- 
hood. If I had as many arms as Bi-iareus they 
would be too few to correct the misrepresentations 
of speeches I have made in the past six inonths." 
It was on the 3d of October, 1844, that Kobert 
Toombs spoke at a memorable political ^neeting in 
Augusta, Ga. Augusta was in the heart of the 
district which he was contesting for Congress, and 
the Democrats, to strengthen their cause, brought 
over McDuffie from South Carolina. Large crowds 
were present in the shady yard surrounding the 
City Hall ; seats had been constructed there, while 
back in the distance long trenches were dug, and 
savory meats were undergoing the famous process 
of barbecue. Speaking commenced at ten o'clock 
in the morning, and, with a short rest for dinner, 
there were seven hours of oratory. People seldom 
tired in those days of forensic meetings. Toombs 
was on his mettle. He denounced the Democrats 
for dragging the slavery question before the people 
to operate upon their fears. It was a bugbear 
everlastingly used to cover up the true Question at 



48 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

issue. It was kept up to oj^erate on the fears of 
the timid and the passions and prejudices of the 
unsuspecting. 

The young Whig then Liuuched into a glowing 
defense of the National Bank. The Democrats 
had asked where was the authority to charter a 
bank ? He would reply, " Where was the author- 
ity, in so many words, to build lighthouses ? Dem- 
ocrats were very strict constructionists when it was 
necessary to accomplish their political purposes, 
but always found a way to get around these doubts 
when occasion required." He taunted McDuffie 
with having admitted that Congress had power to 
charter a bank. 

Mr. Toombs contended that a tariff, with the 
features of protection to American industry, had 
existed since the. foundation of the government. 
This great system of " plunder " had been sup- 
ported by Jefferson. Eloquently warming up under 
the Democratic charge that the tariff was a system 
of robbery, Mr. Toombs appealed to every Whig 
and Democrat as an American wdio boasted of this 
government as " a model to all nations of the earth ; 
as the consummation of political wisdom; who asks 
the oppressed of all nations to come and place him- 
self under its protection, because it upholds the 
weak against the strong and protects the poor 
against the rich, whether it has been going on in a 
system of plunder ever since it sprang into power." 
"It is not true," he said, " it is not true ! " 



ELECTED TO COyGBESS. 49 

Turning witli j^i'oplietic ken to liis Augusta 
friends, lie asked -what would be tlie effect were 
tlie Savannah River turned tlirouo-h the beautiful 
plains of Augusta, and manufactures built up where 
the industrious could find employment. Hundreds 
of persons, he said, would be brouglit together to 
spin the raw cotton grown in the State, to con- 
sume the provisions which the farmers raised, thus 
di\'ersifying their employment and increasing their 
profits. " Would any man tell me," shouted the 
orator, his eyes l)lazing, and his arms uplifted, 
" that this would impoverish the country — would 
make paupers of tlie people ? To increase the 
places where the laborer may sell his labor ^vould 
never make him a pauper. Be controlled," said 
he, " in the administration of government and 
in all other things, by the improvement of the age. 
Do not tie the living to the dead. Others may 
despise the lights of science or experience ; they 
have a right, if they choose, to be governed by the 
dreams of economists who have rejected practical 
evidence. But no such consistency is mine. I 
will have none of it." 

McDuffie in his speech declared tliat all the 
plundei'ing which England had been subjected to 
from the days of Hengist and Horsa could not 
equal the plundering which the people of the ex- 
porting States had sustained. 

Toombs answered that if a man must pay tax to 
sustain the government it was better he should 



50 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

pay it in sucli a way as to benefit his own country- 
men than for the benefit of foreign manufacturers 
and foreign capitalists. 

Mr. Toombs alluded to a letter of James K. 
Polk to a Pennsylvania manufacturer, as leaning 
toward protection. 

McDuffie said that Polk's letter was " composed 
for that meridian." 

" Henry Clay does not need an interpreter," 
cried Toombs. " He is the same in the North as in 
the South. He would rather be right than Presi- 
dent." 

" Dallas, the Democratic nominee for vice 
president, is a high-tariff man," said Toombs. 
''He voted for the tariff of 1832 and against the 
compromise measures. Although the sword was 
drawn to drink the blood of McDuffie's friends in 
Carolina, Dallas would still adhere to his pound of 
flesh." 

Toombs concluded his great repl}' to McDuffie : 
'' We have lived under the present order of things 
for fifty years, and can continue to live under it 
for one thousand years to come, if the people of 
the South are but content to stand upon their 
rights as guaranteed in the Constitution, and not 
work confusion by listening to ambitious politi- 
cians : by taking as much joains to preserve a good 
understanding with our Northern brethren, the 
vast majority of whom are inclined to respect the 
limitations of the Constitution." 



ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 51 

Tlii.s Avas perliaps tlie greatest political meeting 
Georgia ev<3r held. Politics were at wliite heat. 
Toombs and McDuffie each spoke two hours- 
The campaign cry was for the Whigs : " Clay, 
Frelinghuysen, Toomlis, and our glorious Union," 
and by the Democrats: "Polk, Dallas, Texas, 
and Oregon." It was Whig vs. Loco-foco. The 
Whig leaders of the South ^\'ere Pettigru, Tliomp- 
son, and Yeadon of South Carolina, Merri weather, 
Toombs, and Stephens, of Georgia, while the Dem- 
ocratic lights were McDuffie, Ehett, and Pickens 
of South Carolina, and Charlton, Cobb, Colquitt, 
and Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia. 

The campaign of 1844 was bitter in Georgia. 
The Whigs carried the burden of a protective 
tariff, while the memories of nullification and the 
Force bill were awakened by a rino-inf* letter from 
George M. Troup, condemning the tariff in his vig- 
orous style. This forced Mr. Toombs, in his letter 
accepting the congressional nomination, to review 
the subject in its relation to the States' Riglits 
party in Georgia. "The tariff of 1824," said he, 
" which was voted for by Andrew Jackson, car- 
ried the principle of protection further than any 
preceding one. Jackson was the avowed friend 
of the protective policy, yet he received the vote 
of Georgia, regardless of party. In 1828 the 
Harrisburg convention demanded additional pro- 
tection, and this measure ^vas carried through 
Congress by the leading men of the Democratic 



52 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

party. It created discontent in the South, and the 
Act of 1832 professed to modify the tariff — but 
this measure not proving satisfactory was 'nuUi- 
tied ' by South Carolina. General Jackson then 
issued his proclamation which pronounced princi- 
ples and issues utterly at war with the rights of 
the States, and subversive of the character of the 
government. The opponents of consolidaJ;ing prin- 
ciples went into opposition. Delegates met in 
Milledgeville in I800, adopted the Virginia and 
Kentucky resolutions, denounced the sentiments of 
Jadvson's proclamation, and affirmed the doctrine 
of States' Rights." 

" The Democratic party was then," said Toombs, 
"cheek by jowl ^vith the whole tariff party in 
the United States, sustaining General Jackson, 
and stoutly maintaining that the leaders of that 
spirited little band in our sister State, whose 
talent shed a glory over their opposition, deserved 
a halter. Tliey sustained John C. Forsythe in 
voting against the Compromise bill — that peace 
offering of the illustrious Henry Clay." 

Mr. Toombs declared in this campaign that the 
effect of a tariff on the productive industries of a 
country has been a disputed question among the 
Avisest statesmen for centuries, and that these 
influences are subject to so many disturbing- 
causes, both foreign and domestic, that they are 
incapable of being reduced to fixed principles. 



Ma 



ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 53 

Ml'. Toombs did not hesitate, however, to condemn 
" the theories of the South Carolina school of 
politics." 

j\Ir. Toombs opposed the acquisition of Texas. 
He did not believe the North would consent. " It 
matters not," he said, " that Mexico is weah, that 
the ac(]!uisition is easy. The Cjuestion is just the 
same : Is it right, is it Just, is it the policy of this 
country to enlarge its territory by conquest ? The 
principle is condemned by the spirit of the age, by 
reason, and by revelation. A people who love 
Justice and hate wrong and oppression cannot ap- 
prove it. War in a Just cause is a great calamity 
to any people, and can only be Justified by the 
highest necessity. A people who go to war with- 
out Just and sufficient cause, with no other raotiv^e 
than pride and love of glory, are enemies to the 
human race and deserve the execration of all man- 
kind. AVhat, then, must be the Judgment of a 
war for plunder ? " He denounced the whole 
thing as a land Job, and declared that he would 
rather have " the Union without Texas than Texas 
Avithout tlie Union." 

The Democratic opponent of Mr. Toombs in 
this canvass was Hon. Edward J. Black of Scre- 
ven, wlio had been in Congress since 1838. The 
new district was safely Whig, but tlie young 
candidate had to fight the prestige of McDufiie 
and Troup and opposition from numberless 



64 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

sources. It was charged that he always voted in 
the Geoi'o'ia Lejiishiture to raise taxes. He re. 
torted, " It is right to resort to taxation to pay the 
honest debt of a State. I did vote to raise taxes, 
and I glory in it. It was a duty I owed the 
State, and I would go to the last dollar to preserve 
her o;ood name and honor." 

While Mr. Toombs was making a speech in 
this canvass a man in the audience charged him 
with having voted for the free banking law and 
against the poor-school fund. "The gentleman," 
said Mr. Toombs, "seems to find pleasure in 
reveling in my cast-off errors. I shall not dis- 
turb him." 

" How is this, Mr. Toombs," shouted a Demo- 
crat at another time, " here is a vote of yours 
in the house Journal I do not like." 

" Well, my friend, there are several there that I 
do not like : now what are you going to do about 
it ? " 

Especially was opposition bitter to Henry 
Clay. Cartoons were published from Northern 
papers, of Clay whipping a negro slave, with this 
inscription: "The Mill Boy of the Slashes'' 
Pictures appeared in the Democratic papers of a 
human figure surmounted by a pistol, a bottle, and 
a deck of cards. To this a resume of Clay's mis- 
deeds was appended : 

"In 1805 quarreled with Colonel Davis of Ken- 



ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 55 

tucky, which led to his first duel. In 1808 
challenged Humphrey Marshall, and fired three 
times at his breast. In 1825 challeno;ed the srreat 
John Randolph, and fired once at his breast. In 
1838 he planned the Cilley duel, by which a mur- 
der was committed and a wife made a mourner. 
In 1841, when sixty-five years old, and gray- 
headed, is under a five thousand dollar bond to 
keep the peace. At twenty-nine he perjured him- 
self to secure a seat in the United States Senate. 
In 1824, made the infamous bargain with Adams 
by which he sold out for a six thousand dollar 
ofiice. He is well known as a srambler and Sab- 
bath-breaker." 

But the eloquent Harry of the West had a large 
and devoted followino;. He visited Geor<2:ia in 
March of this year, and charmed the people by his 
eloquence and magnetism. Robert Tooml)s had 
met him at the social board and had been won by 
his superb mentality and fine manners. Women 
paid him the tribute of their presence wherever 
he spoke, and little children scattered flowers 
along his path. But the November election in 
Georgia, as elsewhere, was adverse to the part}^ of 
Henry Clay. Toombs and Stephens were sent 
to Con2:ress, but the electoral vote of Geor^-ia was 
cast for Polk and Dallas, and tlie AVhigs, who 
loved Clay as a father, regarded liis defeat as a 
personal afiliction as well as a public calamity. 



CHAPTER V. 

IN THE LOWER HOUSE. 

Robert Too:\rBS took liis seat in the twenty- 
nintli Congress in December, 1845. The Demo- 
crats organized the House by the election of 
John W. Davis of Indiana, Speaker. The House 
was made up of unusually strong men, who after- 
ward became noted in national aifairs. Hannibal 
Hamlin was with the Maine delegation ; ex-Presi- 
dent John Quincy Adams had been elected from 
Massachusetts with Robert C. Winthrop ; Steplien 
A. Douglas was there from Illinois ; David Wil- 
mot from Pennsylvania; R. Barnwell Rhett and 
Armistead Burt from South Carolina; Geo. C. 
Droomgoole and R<^l3ert M. T. Hunter of Virginia, 
Andrew J(,)huson of Tennessee, were members, as 
were Henry W. Ililliard and AV. L. Yancey of 
Alabama, Jefferson Davis and Jacob Thompson 
of Mississippi, and John Slidell of Louisiana. 
Toombs, Stephens, and Cobb were the most 
prominent figures in the Georgia delegation. 

The topics uppermost in the public mind of 
that day were the Oregon question, Texas, and 
the ubiquitous tariff. It looked at one time as if 
war with Great Britain were luiavoidable. Presi- 

56 



/iV THE L WEB HO USE. 5 V 

deut Polk occupied an extreme position, and 
declared in his messao-e to Coniiress that our title 
to the whole of Oregon was clear. The boundary 
of the ceded territory was unsettled. The Demo- 
crats demanded the occupation of Oregon, ^vith 
the campaign cry of " fifty -four forty or fight." 

Mr. Toomhs did not accept President Polk's 
position. His first speech in the House was made 
January 12, 1840, and at once placed him in the 
front rank of orators and statesmen. lie said 
that it was not clear to him that our title was 
exceptional up to 54° 40'. Our claim to the terri- 
tory north of the Cohimbia Kiver w^as the Spanish 
title only, and this had been an inchoate right. 

Mr. Toombs wanted the question settled by 
reason. He impetuously declared that "neither 
the clamors within nor without this hall, nor the 
ten tliousand Britisli cannon, floating on every 
siiip, or mounted on every island, shall influence 
my decision in a question like this." He was for 
peace — for honorable peace. " It is the mother 
of all the virtues and hopes of mankind," No 
man would go further than lie to obtain honorable 
peace ; but dishonorable peace was worse than 
war — it was the worst of all evil. 

War was the o-reatest and the most horrible of 
calamities. Even a war for liberty itself was 
rarely compensated by the consequences. " Yet 
the common judgment of mankind consigned to 



58 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

lasting infamy tlie people wlio would surrender 
their rio-hts and freedom for tlie sake of a dis- 
honest peace." 

" Let us," cried the speaker, turning to his 
Southern colleagues, " let us repress any unworthy 
sectional feeling which looks only to the attain- 
ment of sectional power." 

His conclusion was an apotheosis of Georgia as 
a Union State. He said : " Mr. Speaker, Georgia 
wants peace, but she would not for the sake of 
peace yield any of her own or the nation's rights. 
A new career of prosperity is now before her; 
new prospects, bright and fair, open to her vision 
and lie ready for her grasp, and she fully appreci- 
ates her position. She has at length begun to 
avail herself of her advantages by forming a great 
commercial line between the Atlantic and the 
AVest. She is embarking in enterprises of intense 
importance, and is beginning to provide manufac- 
tures for her unpaid laborers. She sees nothing 
but prosperity ahead, and peace is necessary in 
order to reveal it; but still, if war must come, if 
it has been decreed that Oregon must be conse- 
crated to liberty in the blood of the brave and 
the sufferings of the free, Georgia will be found 
ready with her share of the offering, and, what- 
ever may be her sacrifice, she will display a mag- 
nanimity as great as the occasion and as prolonged 
as the conflict." 



In the lower house. 59 

Mr. Toombs indorsed the conservative action of 
the Senate, whicli forced President Polk from his 
extreme position and established the parallel of 
•49° as the northern boundary. 

The tariff bill of 1846 was framed, as President 
Polk expressed it, in the interest of lower duties, 
and it changed . the basis of assessment from spe- 
cific, or minimum duties, to duties ad valorem. 

Mr. Toombs made a most elaborate speech, 
against this bill in July, 1846. If his Oregon 
speech had shown thorough familiarity with the 
force and effect of treaties and the laws of na- 
tions, his tariff speech proved him a student of 
fiscal matters and a master of finance. His gen- 
ius, as Jefferson Davis afterward remarked, lay de- 
cidedly in this direction. ]\Ir. Toombs announced 
in his tariff speech that the best of laws, esj^ecially 
tax laws, were but approximations of human jus- 
tice. He entered into an elaborate argument to 
controvert the idea that low tariff meant increased 
revenue. The history of such legislation, he con- 
tended, had been that the highest tariff' had raised 
the most money. Mr. Toombs combated the ad 
valorem principle of levying duty upon imports. 

Mr. Toombs declared to his constituents in 
September, 1846, that the President had marched 
his army into Mexico without authority of law. 
" The conquest and dismemberment of Mexico, 
however brilliant may be the success of our 



60 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

arms," said be, " will uot redound to tlie glory 
of our repiil)lic." 

The AVliigs approached the Presidential cam- 
paign of 1848 with every chance of success. 
They still hoped that the Sage of Ashland 
might be the nominee. George AV. Crawford, 
ex-Governor of Georgia, and afterwai'd mem- 
ber of the Taylor Cabinet, perceiving that the 
drift in the West was accainst Mr. Clay, of- 
fered a resolution in the AVhig convention that 
"whatever may have been our personal prefer- 
ences, we feel that in yielding them at the pres- 
ent time, we are only pursuing Mr^ Clay's own illus- 
trious example." Mr. Toombs stated to his con- 
stituents that Clay could not be nominated be- 
cause Ohio had declared that no man who had op- 
posed the Wilmot Proviso could get the vote of 
that State. The Whigs, who had opposed the 
Mexican -war, now reaped its benefits by nominat- 
ing one of its heroes to the Presidency, and Zach- 
ary Taylor of Louisiana became at (mce a pop- 
ular candidate. Millard Fillmore of New York 
w^as named for vice president, and " Pough and 
Ready " clubs were soon organized in everj- part 
of Georgia. The venerable William li. Crawford 
headed the AVhig electoral ticket in Georgia, while 
Toombs, Stephens, and Tliomas W. Thomas led 
the campaign. 

The issue of the campaign in Georiiia was the 



IX THE LOWER HOUSE. 61 

Cla3^toii compromise -wliieli tlie Georgia seuators 
had sustained, but wliicli Stephens and Toombs 
had defeated in the House. This compromise 
proposed that all questions concerning slavery in 
the governments of the ceded territory be referred 
to the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. 
Toombs declared that the Mexican law prohibiting 
slavery was still valid and would so remain ; that 
CoDfj-ress and not the courts must chanire this 
law. 

The Clayton compromise, Mr. Toombs said, was 
only intended as " the Euthanasia of States' Rights. 
When our rights are clear, security for them 
should be free from all ambiguity. We ought 
nev^er to surrender territory, until it shall be 
wrested from us as we have wrested it from 
Mexico. Such a surrender would degrade and 
demoralize our section and disable us for effective 
resistance asfainst future asc^rression. It is far 
better that this new acquisition should be the 
grave of the republic than of the rights and 
honor of the South — and, from present indications, 
to this complexion it must come at last." 

Mr. Toombs demanded that what was recog- 
nized by la^v as property in the slaveholding 
States should be recognized in the Mexican terri- 
tory. " Tliis boon," he pleaded, ^' may be worth- 
less, but its surrender involves our honor. We 
can permit no discrimination against our section 



62 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

or our institutions in dividing out the common 
property of the republic. Their rights are not to 
be abandoned, or bartered away in presidential 
elections." 

So Toombs and Stephens were central figures 
in this national campaign. It was during this 
canvass that Mr. Stephens became end^roiled with 
Judge Francis H. Cone, a prominent lawyer of 
Georgia and a near neighbor. Mr. Stephens 
heard that Judge Cone had denounced him as a 
traitor for moving to table the Clayton compro- 
mise. Stephens had retorted sharply that if 
Cone had said this he \vould slap his face. After 
some correspondence the two men met in Atlanta, 
September 4, 1848. The trouble was renewed; 
Judge Cone denounced Mr. Stephens, ^vho rapped 
him over the shoulders with a whalebone cane. 
Mr. Stephens was a fragile man, and Judge Cone, 
with strong physique, closed in and forced him to 
the floor. During the scuffle Mr. Stephens was 
cut in six places. His life for a while was de- 
spaired of. Upon his recovery he was received 
with wild enthusiasm by the Whigs, who cheered 
his pluck and regarded his return to the canvass 
as an omen of victory. 

Shortly afterward he wrote to Mrs. Toombs, 
thanking her for her interest and solicitude during 
his illness. He manaofed to write with his left 

c 



ZZV^ THE LOWER HOUSE. 63 

liaud, as he could not use liis right. " I hope," he 
says, " I will be al)le to take the stump again next 
week for old Zacli. I think Mr. Toombs has had 
the wei2:ht of the canvass Ions; enouo^h, and though 
lie has done gallant service, this but inspires me 
with the wish to lend all aid in my power. I 
think we shall yet be able to save the State. My 
faith is as strong as i\Ir. Preston's which, you kuo^v, 
was enough to move mountains. I got a letter the 

other day from ]\Ir. C- , ^vho gives it as his 

opinion that Oliio would go for General Taylor. 
If so, he will be elected. And you know how I 
shall hall such a ]-esult." 

During Mr. Stephens' illness Mr. Toombs can- 
vassed many of the counties in the Stephens dis- 
trict. Both men were reelected to Conirress, and 
Zachary Taylor received the electoral vote of 
Georgia over Lewis Cass of jMichigan, and vvas 
elected President of the United States. 

The Democrats, who put out a candidate this 
year against ]\Ir. Toombs, issued an address which 
was evidently not inspired by the able and deserv- 
ing gentleman who bore their standard, but Avas 
intended as a sharp rebuke to Mr. Toombs. It is 
interesting as sliowing how he was regarded by 
his friends, the enemy. 

" Of an age when life's illusions have vanished," 
they said of the Democratic candidate, " he has no 



64 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

sellisli aspirations, no vaulting ambition to carry 
liim astray : no vanity to lead where it is glory 
enougli to follow." They accorded to Mr. Toombs 
" a very showy cast of talent — better suited to the 
displays of the stump than the grave discussions of 
the legislative ludl. His eloquence has that soit 
of splendor mixed with the false and true which 
is calculated to dazzle the multitude. He would 
rather ^vin the applause of groundlings by some 
silly tale than gain the intelligent by the most 
triumphant course of reasoning." Mr. Toombs 
carried every county in the district and was re- 
turned to Congress by 1681 majority. 

AYhen Mr. Toombs returned to AVashington he 
had commanded national prominence. He had 
not only carried his State for Zachary Taylor, l)ut 
his speech in New York, during a critical period 
of the canvass, had turned the tide for the Whig 
candidate in the country. Toombs and Stephens 
naturally stood very near the administration. 
They soon had reason to see, however, that the 
Taylor Cabinet was not attentive to Southern 
counsels. 

During the fight over the compromise measure 
in Congress the Northern papers printed sensa- 
tional accounts of a rupture between President 
Taylor and Messrs. Toombs and Stephens. Ac- 
cording to this account the Georgia congressmen 



IN TUE LOWER HOUSE. 65 

called on tlie President aud expressed strong dis- 
approbation of his stand upon tlie bill to organize 
tlie Territory of New Mexico. It was said tliat 
tliey even threatened to side witli Lis opponents 
to censure liini upon Lis action in tLe case of 
Secretary Cra^vford and tlie GolpLin claim. TLe 
President, tlie article recited, was very mucL 
troubled over tliis interview and remained despond- 
ent for several days. He took Lis bed and never 
rallied, dying on tLe 9tL of July, 1850. Mr. 
Stepliens publisLed a card, promptly denying tLis 
sensation, lie said tliat iieitLer Le nor Lis col- 
league Mr. Toombs Lad visited tLe President at 
all during or jn-evious to Lis last illness, and tLat 
no sucli scene Lad occurred. 

Toombs and StepLens, in fact, were warm per- 
sonal friends of George W. Crawford, a\'Lo Avas 
Secretary of War in Taylor's Cabinet. He Lad 
served witL tLem in tlie General Assembly of 
Georo-ia and Lad twice been Governor of tLeir 
State. TLe GolpLin claim, of wliicL Governor 
Crawford Lad been agent. Lad been collected from 
tlie Secretary of tLe Treasury wLile Governor 
Crawford was in tLe Cabinet, but President Taylor 
Lad decided tLat as Governor Crawford was at tLe 
Lead of an entirely different department of tLe 
government, Le Lad been guilty of no impropriety. 
After tLe deatL of President Taylor, Governor 



66 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Crawford returned to Augusta and was tendered a 
public dinner by bis fellow-citizens, irrespective of 
party. He delivered an eloquent and feeling ad- 
dress. He made an extensive tour abroad, tlien 
lived in retirement in Kicbmond County, enjoying 
the respect and confidence of bis neighbors. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE COMPROMISE OF 1850. 

No legislative body ever assembled with more 
momentous measures before it tlian tlie tliirty-first 
Congress of tlie United States. An immense 
area of unsettled public domain Lad been wrested 
from Mexico. The Territories of California, Utah, 
and Kew Mexico, amounting to several hundred 
thousand square miles, remained undisposed of. 
They comprised what Mr. Calhoun had termed 
the "Forbidden Fruit," and the trouble which 
beclouded their annexation threatened to surpass 
the storms of conquest. 

Congress felt that it was absolutely without 
lio-ht to c:uide it. It had declined to extend the 
Missouri Com[)i'omise line to the Pacific Ocean. 
Henry Clay had pronounced such division of 
public domain between the sections a " Utopian 
dream," and Zachary Taylor had condemned the 
principle in the only message he ever delivered to 
Congress. AVhat Mr. Lincoln afterward embodied 
in his famous expression that the Union could 
never exist " half slave, half free," liad been 
actually anticipated. The whole territorial ques- 

67 



68 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

tion came up as a new problem. But if the crisis 
was now momentous the body of statesmen whicli 
considered it was a great one. The men and the 
hour seemed to meet in that supreme moment. 
The Senate consisted of sixty members, and for 
the hist time that great trio of CLay, Calhoun, and 
Webster met upon its floor. Commencing their 
careers a generation before, with eventful lives 
and illustrious performance, they lingered one 
moment in this arena before passing forever 
from the scenes of their earthly efforts. All 
three had given up ambition for the Presidency, 
none of them had commenced to break in mental 
power, and each one was animated by patriotism 
to serve and save his country. William II. 
Seward had entered the Senate from New York ; 
James M. Mason and Eo])ert M. T. Hunter repre- 
sented Virginia; AVm. C. Da^vson had joined Mr. 
Berrien from Georgia ; Salmon P. Chase appeared 
from Ohio ; Jefferson Davis and Henry S. Foote 
illustrated Mississippi ; Stephen A. Douglas had 
been promoted from the House in Illinois, and 
Samuel Houston was there from Texas. Tlie 
House was unusually strong and divided with the 
Senate the stormy scenes and surpassing struggles 
over the compromise measures of 1850. It was 
the time of breaking up of party lines, and many 
believed that the hour of disunion had arrived. 
The AVhiiz caucus, which assembled to nomi- 



TSE COMPROMISE OF 1850. 69 

nate a candidate for Speaker of the House, sus- 
tained a serious split. Kobert Toombs oii'ered a 
resolution tliat Congress should place no restric- 
tion upon slavery in the Territories. The North- 
ern AVhigs scouted the idea and Toombs led the 
Southern members out of the meeting;. The 
organization of the House was delayed three 
weeks, and finally, under a plurality resolution, 
the Democrats elected Howell Cobb of Georgia 
Speaker over Robert C. Winthrop of Massachu- 
setts. In the midst of these stormy scenes Mr. 
Toombs forced the fio-htino-. He declared with 
impetuous manner that he believed the interests 
of his people were in danger and he was unwill- 
ing to surrender the great power of the Speaker's 
chair without security for tlie future. 

" It seems," h-e said, " that we are to be intimid- 
ated by eulogies of the Union and denunciations 
of those wlio are not ready to sacrifice national 
honor, essential interests, and constitutional rights 
upon its altar. Sir, I have as much attachment to 
the Union of these States, under the Constitution of 
our fathers, as any freeman ought to have. I am 
ready to concede and sacrifice for it whatever a 
just and honorable man ought to sacrifice. I will 
do no more. I have not heeded the expression of 
those who did not understand or desired to mis- 
represent my conduct or opinions in relation to 
these questions, which, in my judgment, so vitally 



70 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

affect it. The time has come when I shall not 
only utter them, but make them the basis of my 
political actions here. I do not then hesitate to 
avow before this House and the country, and in the 
presence of the living God, that if by your legisla- 
tion you seek to drive us from the Territories pur- 
chased l)y the common blood and treasure of the 
people, and to abolish slavery in the District, there- 
b}^ attempting to fix a national degradation upon 
half the States of this confederacy, I am for dis- 
union, and if my physical courage be equal to the 
maintenance of my convictions of right and duty 
I will devote all I am and all I have on earth to 
its consummation. 

" Give me securities that the power of organiza-. 
tion which you seek will not be used to the injury 
of my constituents ; then you can have my co- 
operation, but not till then. Grant them, and you 
prevent the disgraceful scenes of the last twenty- 
four hours and restore tranquillity to the country. 
Refuse them, and, as far as I am concerned, let 
discord reign forever." 

This speech fell like a clap of thunder. The 
Wilmot Proviso waved like a black flag over the 
heads of Southern men. No one had spoken 
outright until Mr. Toombs in his bold, dashing, 
Mirabeau style accepted the issue in the w^ords 
just given. The House was filled with storms of 



THE COMPROMISE OF 1850. 71 

applause and jeers, and, as can be imagined, Mr. 
Toombs' speech did not sootlie the bitterness or 
alter the determination of either side. 

On the 22d of December a conference was held 
by Whigs and Democrats, the Southern Whigs ex- 
cepted, and a resolution reported that the person 
receiving the largest number of votes for Speaker, 
on a certain ballot, should be declared elected, pro- 
vided this number should be the majority of a 
quorum, but not a majority of the House. Mr. 
Stanton of Tennessee offered this " plurality 
resolution." 

Mr. Toombs sprang to his feet and declared that 
the House, until it organized, could not pass this 
or any other rule. 

Members stood up and called Mr. Toombs to 
order, claiming that there was already a (piestion 
pending. Mr. Stanton contended that he had the 
floor. 

Toombs called out : " You may cry ' order,' gen- 
tlemen, until the heavens fall ; you cannot take 
this place from me. I have the right to protest 
against this transaction. It is not with you to say 
whether this right shall be yielded or when it shall 
be yielded." 

Mr. Stevens of Pennsylvania : " I call the gen- 
tleman to order." 

Mr. Toombs : " I say that by the law of 1789 



72 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

this House, until a Speaker is elected and gentle- 
men have taken the oath of office, has no right to 
adopt any rules whatever." 

(Loud cries of " order.") 

Mr. Toombs: "Gentlemen may amuse them- 
selves crying ' order.' " 

(Calls of "order.") 

Mr. Toombs : " But I have the rio-ht and I in- 
tend to maintain the right to " 

Mr. Vandyke called upon the clerk to put the pre- 
ceding question. "Let us see," he said, "whether 
the gentleman w^ill disregard the order of this 
House." 

Mr. Toombs : " I have the floor, and the clerk 
cannot put the question." 

"The House," he said, "has no right. Gentle- 
men may cry ^ order ' and interrupt me. It is 
mere brute force, attempting by the power of 
lungs to put me down." 

Confusion increased. Members called out to en- 
courage Mr. Toombs, and others to put him down. 
In the midst of this babel he continued to speak, 
his black hair thrown back, his face flushed, and 
his eyes blazing like suns. His deep voice could 
be heard above the shouts like a lion's roar. Mem- 
bers shouted to the clerk to call the roll for the 
yeas and nays. 

Toombs continued : " If you seek by violating the 
common law of parliament, the laws of the land, 



THE COMPROMISE OF 1850. V3 

and the Constitution of tlie United States, to put mc 
down [''order, order, call tlie roll"], you will find 
it a vain and futile attempt. [" Order."] I am sure 
I am indebted to tlie ignorance of my character on 
the part of those who are thus disgracing them- 
selves ["order, order"], if they suppose any such 
efforts as they are now making ^\i\\ succeed in driv- 
ing me from the position which I have assumed. 
I stand upon the Constitution of my country, upon 
the liberty of speech which you have treacher- 
ously violated, and upon the rights of my constit- 
uents, and your fiendish yells may be well raised 
to drown an argument which }ou tremble to hear. 
You claim and have exercised the power to pre- 
vent all debate upon any and every subject, yet 
you have not as yet shown your right to sit here 
at all. I Avill not presume that you have any such 
right [" order, order" [ I will not suppose that the 
American people have elected such agents to rep- 
resent them. I therefore demand that they shall 
comply ^vith the Act of 1789 before I shall lie 
}K)und to submit to their authoi'ity." (Loud 
cries of " order.") 

The Act to Avhicli Mr. Toombs referred recited 
that the oath must be administered liy the Speaker 
to all the members present, and to the clerk, pre- 
vious to entering on any other business. This he 
tried to read, but cries of " order " drowned his 
voice. 



74 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Throwing aside liis manual Mr. Toombs walked 
further out into the aisle and assumed a yet more 
defiant position. 

" You refuse," he said, " to hear either the Con- 
stitution or the law. Perhaps you do well to listen 
to neither ; they all speak a voice of condemnation 
to your reckless proceedings. But if you will not 
hear them the country Avill. Every freeman from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific shore shall hear them, 
and every honest man shall consider them. You 
cannot stifle the voice that shall reach their ears- 
The electric spark shall proclaim to the freemen of 
this republic that an American Congress, ha%ang 
conceived the purpose to violate the Constitution 
and the laws to conceal their enormities, have dis- 
graced the record of their proceedings by placing 
upon it a resolution that their i-epresentatives shall 
not be heard in their defense, and finding this ille- 
gal resolution inadequate to secure so vile an end, 
liave resorted to brutish yells and cries to stifle 
the words of those they cannot intimidate." 

The clerk continued to call the roll, and Mr. 
Toombs with splendid audacity turned upon him. 
Pointing his finger at the locum tenens, he cried 
witli scorn : " I ask by what authority that man 
stands there and calls these names. By what au- 
thority does HE interfere ^vith the rights of a mem- 
ber of this House. [The clerk continued to call.] 
He is an intruder, and how dares he to interrupt 



THE COMPROMISE OF 1850. 75 

members in the exercise of their constitutional 
rights. Gentlemen, has the sense of shame de- 
parted with your sense of right, that you permit a 
creature, an interloper, in no wise connected with 
you, to stand at that desk and interrupt your 
order?" 

Mr. Toombs continued, amid these boisterous 
scenes, his alternate role of argument, of appeal, 
of denunciation. He contended that a power del- 
egated to the House must be used by a majority of 
the House. He concluded : 

" I tlierefore demand of you before the country, 
in the name of the Constitution and the people, to 
repeal your illegal rule, reject. the one on j'oiir 
table, and proceed to the discharge of your high 
duties, which the people have confided to you, ac- 
cording to the unvarying precedents of your people 
and the law of the land." 

This performance was denounced by Northern 
restrictionists as meuacino- and insolent. Mr. Ste- 
])heus, in his "War Between the States," con- 
tended that it should rather be considered iu the 
light of a wonderful exhibition of physical as well 
as intellectual prowess — in this, that a single man 
should have been able, thus successfully, to speak 
to a tumultuous crowd and, by declamatory denun- 
ciations combined with solid argument^ to silence 
an infui'iated assembly. 

The noise during the delivery of this speech 



16 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

gradually ceased. The clerk stopped calling tlie 
roll, all interruptions were susjDended and " every 
eye," says Mr. Stephens, " was fixed upon tlie 
speaker." It was a picture worthy of ranking with 
Lamartine's great speech to the re^ olutionists in 
France. 

On the 29th of February Mr. Toombs addressed 
the House upon the general territorial question. 
He said : 

" AVe had our institutions when you songht our 
allegiance. We were content with them then, 
and we are content with them now. AVe have 
not sought to thrust them upon you, nor to inter- 
fere with yours. If you believe what you say, 
that yours are so much the best to promote the 
happiness and good government of society, why 
do you fear our equal competition with you in the 
Territories ? We only ask that our common 
government shall protect us both, equally, until 
the Territories shall be admitted as States into the 
Union, then to leave their citizens free to adopt 
any domestic policy in reference to this subject 
which in their judgment may best promote their 
interest and their happiness. The demand is just. 
Grant it, and you place your prosperity and ours 
upon a solid foundation ; you perpetuate the 
Union so necessary to your prosperity ; you solve 
the problem of republican government. If it be 
demonstrated that the Constitution is powerless 



THE COMPROMISE OF 1850. i ' 

for our protection, it will tlien be not only the 
right but the duty of the slaveholding States to 
resume the powers which they have conferred 
upon this government and to seek new safeguards 
for their future protection. . . . We took the Con- 
stitution and the Union together. We will have 
both or we will have neither. This cry of Union 
is the masked battery behind which the rights of 
the South are to be assaulted. Let the South 
mark the man \\li() is for the Union at every 
hazard and to the last extremity ; wlien the day 
of her peril comes he will be the imitator of that 
character, the base Judas, who for thirty pieces 
of silver threw away a pearl richer than all his 
tribe." 

On the 15th of June, 1850, while the com- 
promise measures were shifting from House to 
House, the question was put to some of the advo- 
cates of the admission of California, whether they 
would under any circumstances admit a slave 
State into the Uiiion. They declined to say. 

Mr. Toombs arose and declared that the South 
did not deny the right of a people framing a State 
constitution to admit or exclude slaveiy. The 
South had uniformly maintained this right. 

"The evidence is complete," he said. "The 
North repudiated this principle." 

" I intend to dras^ oif the mask before the con- 
sununation of the act. We do not oppose Call- 



78 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

fornia on account of the antislavery clause in her 
constitution. It was her riglit, and I am not even 
prepared to say she acted unwisely in its exer- 
cise — that is her business : Ijut I stand upon the 
great principle that the South has the right to an 
ecpial participation in the Territoiies of the United 
States. I claim the riirht for her to enter them 

o 

with all her property and security to enjoy it. 
She will divide with you if you Avish it : but the 
right to enter all, or divide, I will never surrender. 
In my Judgment this right, involving, as it does, 
political equality, is Avorth a dozen such Unions 
as we have, even if each were a thousand times 
more valuable than this. I speak not for others, 
but for myself. Deprive us of this right, and 
appropriate this common property to yourselves ; 
it is then your government, not mine. Then I am 
its enemy, and I will then, if I can, bring my 
children and my constituents to the altar of liberty, 
and like Hamilcar, I will swear them to eternal 
hostility to your foul domination. Give us our 
just rights, and we are ready, as ever heretofore, to 
stand by the Union, every part of it, and its every 
interest. Refuse it, and, for one, I will strike for 
independence." 

Mr. Stephens declared that this speech produced 
the greatest sensation he had ever seen in the 
House. " It created a perfect commotion." 

These heated arguments of Mr. Toombs were 



THE COMPROMISE OF 1850. 79 

delivered under the menace of the AVilmot Pro- 
viso, or slavery restriction. When this principle 
was abandoned and the compromise measures 
passed, Mr. Toombs uttered, as we shall see, far 
different sentiments. 

In the Senate Mr. Clay, the Great Pacificator, 
had introduced liis coni[)romise resolutions to 
admit California under tlie government already 
formed, prohibiting slavery ; to organize territorial 
governments for Utah and New Mexico without 
slavery restrictions; to pass a fugitive-slave law, 
and to abolish the slave trade in the District of 
Columbia. On the 7th of March, 1850, Mr. 
AVebster delivered his great Union speech, in 
which for the first time he took strong grounds 
against congressional restriction in the Territories. 
It created a profound sensation. It was on the 
4th of March that Senator Mason read for Mr. 
Calhoun the last speech that the latter ever pre- 
pared. It was a memorable moment when the 
great Carolinian, with the stamp of death already 
upon him, reiterated his love for the Union under 
the Constitution, but declared, with the prescience 
of a seer, that tlie only danger threatening the 
government arose from its centralizing tendency. 
It was " the sunset of life ^vhich gave him mysti- 
cal lore." 

Debate continued through the spring and sum- 
mer with increasiuii; bitterness. On the 31st of 



80 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

July Mr. Clay's " Oninibus Bill," as it was 
called, " went to pieces," but the Senate took up 
tlie separate propositions, j^assed tliera, and trans- 
mitted tliem to the House. 

Here the great sectional contest was renewed. 
Mr. Toombs offered an amendment that the 
Constitution of the United States, and such 
statutes thereof as may not be locally inapplica- 
ble, and the common law, as it existed in the 
British colonies of America until July 4, 1776, 
shall be the exclusive la^vs of said Territory upon 
the subject of African slavery, until altered by 
the proper authority. This was rejected by the 
House. On September 6 the Texas and New 
Mexico bill, w^ith the Boyd amendment, passed 
by a vote of 108 to 97 — and the anti-restriction- 
ists, as Mr. Stephens said, won the day at last. 
This was the great compromise of that year, and 
the point established w^as that, since the princij^le 
of division of territory bet^veen the North and 
South had been abandoned, the principle of con- 
gressional restriction should also be abandoned, 
and that all new States, whether north or south 
of 36° 30', should be admitted into the Union 
"either with or without slavery as their con- 
stitution might prescribe at the time of their 
admission." 

Durinfi: this memorable contest Mr. Toombs 
was in active consultation Avith Northern states- 



TUE COMPROMISE OF 1850. 81 

men, trying to effect tlie comproujise. He in- 
sisted that there should be no couo-ressional 
exclusion of slavery from the public domain, but 
that in organizing territorial governments the 
people should be allowed to authorize or restrict, 
as they pleased. Until these principles were 
settled, however, he would light the admission of 
California. Into this conference Mr. Stephens 
and Howell Cobb were admitted, and at a meet- 
ing at the house of the latter an agreement was 
reached between the three Georgians and the 
representatives from Kentuck}^, Ohio, and Illinois, 
that California should be admitted : that the 
Territories should be oro-anized without restric- 
tioii, and that their joint efforts should be used to 
bring this about as well as to defeat any attempt 
to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. 
Here ^v^as the essence of the compromise, built 
upon the great measures of Henry Clay, and 
linally ripening into the legislation of that session. 
Here was the agreement of that compact ^vhich 
formed the great " Constitutional Union Party " in 
Georgia, and which erected a bulwark against dis- 
union, not only in Georgia, but on the whole 
Southern seaboard. The disunion movement 
failed in 1850. "At the head of the States 
wliich had the merit of stopping it," said Thomas 
H. Benton, " was Georgia, the greatest of the 
South Atlantic States." And that Georgia stood 



82 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

steadfast in her place, and declined every over- 
ture for secession, was because of tlie united 
prestige and splendid abilities of Howell Cobb, 
Alexander H. Stephens, and llobert Toombs. 

During this stormy session Mr. Toombs' heart 
continually yearned for home. He was a model 
husband and a remarkably domestic character. 
The fiery scenes of the forum did not ween him 
from his family. On the 29th of August, 1850, 
he wrote to his wife : 

We have before us the whole of the territorial questions, 
and shall probably pass or reject them in a few (lays or at 
most in a week. I am greatly in hopes that we will not 
pass over them without final action of some sort, and if we 
can get rid of them I shall have nothing to prevent my 
coming home at the time appointed. I begin to be more 
anxious to see you than to save the republic. Such is a 
sweet woman's fascination for men's hearts. The old 
Roman Antony threw away an empire rather than aban- 
don his lovely Cleopatra, and the world has called him a 
fool for it. I begin to think that he was the wiser man, 
and that the world was well lost for love. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE GEORGIA PLATFORM. 

When Ml'. Toombs came Lome in the fall of 
1850 lie found the State in upheaval. Disunion 
sentiment was rife. He was confronted by garbled 
extracts of his speeches in Congress, and made to 
pose as the champion of immediate secession. He 
had aided in perfecting the great compromise and 
was resolved that Geors-ia should take her stand 
firndy and unerpii vocally for the Union and the 
Constitution. Governor Towns had issued a call 
for a State convention ; Mr. Toombs took prompt 
issue witli the spirit and purpose of the call. 
He declared that the lesfislature had endan2:ered 
the honor of the State and that the Governor had 
put the people in a defile. " We must either re- 
pudiate this policy, or arm," he said. "I favor 
the former measure!" 

Mr. Toombs issued a ringjini!' address to the 
people. It bore date of October 9, 1850. He 
proclaimed that " the first act of legislative hos- 
tility was the first act of Southern resistance." 
He urged the South to stand by the Constitution 
and the laws in good faith, until wrong was con- 

63 



84 EGBERT TOOMBS. 

summated or tlie act of exclusion placed upou the 
statute books. 

Mr. Toombs said tliat tlie Soutli had not se- 
cured its full rights. " But the fugitive-slave 
law which I demanded was granted. The aboli- 
tion of slavery in the District of Columbia and 
proscription in the Territories were defeated, 
crushed, and abandoned. AVe have firmly estab- 
lished great and important principles. The South 
has compromised no right, surrendered no prin- 
ciple, and lost not an inch of ground in this great 
contest. I did not hesitate to accept these acts, 
but gave them my ready support." 

Addressing himself to the disunionists he said : 
" Tliey have abandoned their errors, but not their 
object. Being bent upon the ruin of the republic 
they use truth or error for its accomplishment, as 
best suits the exigencies of the hour. If these peo- 
ple are honest in their convictions, they may find 
abundant consolation in the fact that the principle 
is neither conceded, compromised, nor endangered 
by these bills. It is strengthened, not weakened 
by them, and will survive their present zeal and 
future apostasy." 

Mr. Toombs called on all men of integrity, 
intellect, and courage to come into the service 
of the State and prove their devotion to the 
Constitution and the Union. " With no memory 
of past differences," he said, " careless of the fu- 



THE GEORGIA PLATFOB^T. 85 

ture, I am ready to unite witli any portion or all 
my countrymen in defense of the integrity of the 
republic." 

Mr. Toombs took the stump, and his words rang 
out like an alarm bell. Men speak to-day of his 
activity and earnestness in that great campaign, 
as ^vith " rapid and prompt perception, clear, close 
reasoning, cutting eloquence, and unsparing hand 
he rasped the follies of disunion and secession." 
A prominent journal of that day, spealdng of his 
speech in Burke County, Ga., declared that " his 
manly eloquence has shaken and shivered to the 
base the pedestal upon which the monument of 
American ruin was to be erected." 

In November of that year a convention of dele- 
gates from Southern States was held at Nashville. 
Ex-Governor Charles J. McDonald represented 
Georgia. That meeting protested against the ad- 
mission of California with slavery restriction ; 
charged that tlie })olicy of Congress had l^een to 
exclude the Southern States from the Territories, 
and plainly asserted that the powers of the sov- 
ereign States could l^e resumed by the States sep- 
arately. On November 3 the election of delegates 
to the Georgia convention was held. Toombs liad 
already tui'ued tlie tide. A great majority of 
Union men were chosen. AYliio-s and Democrats 
united to save the State. Toombs stood convicted 
before manv of his old followers of " unsoundness 



86 nOBEBT TOOMBS. 

on the slavery question " — but he was performing 
his greatest public work. 

Among the delegates elected by the people to 
the Georgia convention, which met at Milledge- 
ville, December 10, 1850, were Toombs and Ste- 
phens and many of the. best men in the State. 

Tlie work of the distinguished body was mem- 
orable. They adopted the celebrated "Georgia 
Platform," whose utterances were talismanic. 
Charles J. Jenkins reported the resolutions. They 
recited, first, that Georgia held the American 
Union secondary in importance to the rights and 
principles it was bound to perpetuate. That as 
the thirteen original colonies found union impossi- 
ble without compromise, the thirty-one of this day 
will yield somewhat in the conflict of opinion and 
policy, to preserve the Union. That Georgia had 
maturely considered the action of Congress (em- 
bracing the compromise measures) and — while she 
does not wholly approve it — will abide by it as a 
permanent adjustment of this sectional controversy. 
That the State would in future resist, even to the 
disruption of the Union, any act prohibiting slav- 
ery in the Territories, or a refusal to admit a slave 
State. The fifth plank declared for a faithful ex- 
ecution of the Fugitive-slave bill. 

Upon this platform the Union men selected 
Ho^vell Cobb as their candidate for Governor. 
The Southern Rio;hts men selected Charles J. Mc- 



THE GEORGIA PLATFORM. 8i 

Donald. This party claimed tliat the South was 
degraded by the compromise measures. Their 
platform was based u23on the Virginia and Ken- 
tucky resolution. It asserted the right of secession 
and maintained the constitutionality and necessity 
of intervention by Congress in favor of admitting 
slavery into the Territories. The distinct doctrine 
of the compromise measures was non-intervention. 

Howell Cobb was a born leader of men. Per- 
sonally he was the most popular man in the State. 
Entering public life at an early age he had been 
a congressman at twenty-eight. He had been leader 
of the Southern party, and was chosen Speaker, as 
we have seen, in 1849, when only thirty-four years 
old. He had been known as a strong friend of 
the Union, and some of the extreme States^ Rights 
men called him a " consolidationist." 

In his letter accepting the nomination for Gov- 
ernor, he alluded to the long-cherished doctrine of 
non-intervention. The AVilmot Proviso had been 
withdrawn and the Union saved. The people had 
been awarded the right to determine for themselves 
in the Territories whether or not slavery was to be 
a part of their social system. 

No man was so tireless or conspicuous in this 
campaign as Mr. Toombs. Although expressing 
a desire that someone else should go to Congress 
from his district, he accepted a renomination to 
assert his principles. He did not, however, con- 



88 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

fine liis work to Lis district. He ti-avelecl from 
one end of tlie State to the other. He recognized 
that party organization in Georgia had been over- 
thrown and party lines shattered in every State in 
the Union. He boldly declared that a continu- 
ance of the Union was not incompatible with the 
rights of every State. He asserted that the ani- 
mating spirit of his opponents, the States' Eiglits 
party, was hostility to the Union. Some of the 
members still submitted to the humiliation of rais- 
ing the cry of " the Union," he said, but it was a 
" masked battery," from which the very Union was 
to be assailed. Mr. Toombs announced on the 
stump that " the good sense, the firmness, the pat- 
riotism of the people, would shield the Union from 
assault of our own people. Tliey will maintain 
it as long: as it deserves to be maintained." 

Mr. Toombs admitted that the antislavery sen- 
timent of the North had become more violent from 
its defeat on the compromise measures. 

" What did this party demand, and what did it 
get ? " he asked on the stump. " It was driven 
from every position it assumed. It demanded the 
express prohibition of slavery, the Wilmot Proviso, 
in the Territories. It lost it. It demanded the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, 
and the slave trade between the States. It lost. 
both. It demanded the affirmance of tlie oft-re- 
peated declaration that there should be no more 



THE GEORGIA PLATFORM. 89 

slave States admitted into the Union. Congress 
enacted that States hereafter coining into the 
Union should be admitted with or without slav- 
ery, as such States might determine for tliem- 
selves. It demanded a trial by jury for fugitives 
at the place of arrest. It lost this also. Its ac- 
knowledged exponent is the Free-Soil party. The 
AVliig party has succumbed to it. It is thoroughly 
denationalized and desectionalized, and will never 
make another national contest. We are indebted to 
the defeat of the policy of these men for the exist- 
ence of the government to-day. The Democratic 
party of the North, though prostrated, is not yet de- 
stroyed. Our true policy is to compel both parties 
to purge themselves of this dangerous element. If 
either will, to sustain it. If neither will, then we ex- 
pect to preserve the Union. We must overthrow 
both parties and rally the souikI men toaconmion 
standard. Tliis is the only policy which can pre- 
serve botli our rights and the Union." 

On the 1st of August, 1851, Mr. Toombs spoke 
in Elberton. lie was in the full tide of his man- 
hood, an orator without equal ; a statesman witli- 
out fear or re])roacli. Personally, he was a splen- 
did picture, fvdl of liealtli and vitality. He had 
been prosperous in his affairs. He was prominent 
ip pul)lic life and over])ore all opposition. His 
powers were in their prime. In his speech to his 
constituents he mentioned the fact that his oppo- 



90 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

iients liad criticised tlie manner in wLicli he trav- 
eled (alluding to liis fine liorses and servants). He 
wanted the people to know tliat tlie money was 
his, and that he made $5000 a year in Elbert 
alone. " AVho would say that he had not earned 
his money? He had a right to spend it as he 
chose. Perish such demagogy — such senseless 
stuff." The people cheered him to the echo 
for his candor and audacity. 

" What presumption," he said, " for the States' 
Rights men to nominate McDonald for Governor 
— a man who supported Jackson's Force bill — a 
man who had grown gray in federalism? He 
was the man brought to teach the people of 
Elbert States' Rights. It would be a curious 
subject of inquiry to find out when this neo- 
phyte had changed, and by what process the 
change had been wi'ought." 

Toombs was alluded to b}^ the correspondents 
as " Richard, the Lion-hearted," with strong arm 
and ponderous battle-ax, as he went about winning 
victories. Stephens, no less effective and influen- 
tial, seemed to be the- great Saladin with well- 
tempered Damascus blade — so skillful as to sever 
the finest down. The people were in continued 
uproar as Toombs moved from place to place. 

In Jefferson County, Mr. Toombs denied that 
the South had yielded any demand she ever made, 
or had sacrificed any principle she ever held. He 



THE GEORGIA PLATFORM. 91 

died tliat "opposition to Toombs and Stephens 
seemed to be the principle of political faitli on the 
other side." Toombs declared that Stej^hens 
"carried more brains and more sonl for the least 
flesh of any man God Almighty ever made." 

Mr. Toombs repeated that if the slaveholders 
had lost the right to carry slavery into California, 
they had lost it npou sound principle. The right 
of each State to prescribe its own institutions is a 
right above slavery. Slavery is only an incident 
to this right. This principle lies at the founda- 
tion of all good government. He had always held 
it and would always hold i^t : 

Till wrapped in flames the realms of etlior q'low, 
And Heaven's last thunder shakes the world below. 

He deeply sympathized with those Southern 
Rights men who denounced the Union they pro- 
fessed to love. 

Speaking of the sudden cliange of some of his 
opponents in political principles, Toombs declared 
they " would profess any opinion to gain votes. 
It had been the belief of Crawford that if a man 
changed politics after thirty he was a rascal." 

In Marietta Mr. Toombs addressed an enthu- 
siastic crowd. A journalist said of him: "He is 
my heme ideal of a statesman. Frank, honest, 
bold, and eloquent, he never fails to make a deep 
impression. Many of the fire-eatei's (for they tvill 



92 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

go to hear liiiii) looked as if the}' would make 
tlieir escape from liis withering and scathing re- 
buke." Toombs derided the States' Rio-hts men 
for declaring that they were friends of the Union 
under which they declared they were " degraded ' 
and oppressed." The greatest stumbling-J^lock 
to Toombs' triumphant tour Avas to be presented 
with bits of his own speeches delivered during the 
excitement of the last Congress. 

He had said in one of these impassioned out- 
bursts : " He who counts the danwr of defendina: 
his own home is already degraded. The people 
who count the cost of maintaining their political 
rights are ready for slavery." 

In Lexino;ton he was accused of havino- said 
that if the ])eople understood this slavery question 
as well as he did " they would not remain in the 
Union five minutes." This provoked a bitter 
controvers}^ Mr. Toombs denied the remark, and 
declared he was ^villing to respond personally and 
publicly to the author. 

As the campaign became more heated, Toombs, 
Stephens, and Cobb redoubled their efforts and 
drew their lines more closely. This combination 
was invincible. It was evident that they would 
carry the State, but some of the prominent men 
in Georgia were ruled out under what was 
thought to be the bitter spirit of the canvass. 
One of these was Charles J, Jenkins, and the 



THE GEORGIA PLATFORM. 93 

other, John McPliersou Berrien, The former had 
drawu the celebrated Georgia Platforui, and was 
devoted to the Uuiou. The latter was United 
States Senator from Georgia, and, as his successor 
•was to be chosen by the legislature soon to be 
elected, there was much curiosity to find out his 
real position in this canvass. Mr. Jenkins de- 
clared that he considered Mr. Berrien " as good a 
Union man and as safe a representative of the 
party as any within its ranks." Berrien acquiesced 
in but did not eulogize the compromise measures. 
He did not oppose or favor the State convention 
of 1850. When he submitted to the Senate the 
Georijia Platform, he declared that he did not 
surrender the privileges of a free choice. He 
supported McDonald for Governor against Cobb, 
and it was soon evident that he was not in full 
sympathy with the winning party. 

The Constitutional Union men won a signal 
victory. Howell Cobb was elected Governor by 
a large majority over Charles J. McDonald, who 
had been twice Governor and who was one of the 
stroni>:est men in Georsjia. 1^01)611: Toombs was 
reelected to Congress over Robert McMilleu of 
Elbert, and Mr. Stephens defeated D. W. Lewis 
of Hancock. 

The legislature convened in November, 1851. 
It was largely made up of Union men. Judge 
Berrien was not a candidate for reelection to the 



94 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Uuited States Senate. He wrote a letter -ji 
whicli lie reviewed liis course during the cam- 
paign, lie said : 

" I asserted in terms wliicli oven cavilers could not 
misunderstand nor any lionest man doubt, my devotion to 
the Union, my unfaltering determination to maintain by 
all constitutional means, and with undiminished zeal, the 
equal rights of the South, and my acquiescence in the com- 
promise measures. Satisfied that such declarations, in the 
excited state of feeling, would not meet the exactions of 
either party in a contest peculiarly bitter, and unable to 
sacrifice for the ])urpose of victory the dictates of con- 
science or the convictions of judgment, I expressed a will- 
ingness to retire." 

On tlie lOtli of November Kobert Toombs was 
elected Uuited States Senator. In the caucus lie 
secured T3 votes, and in tlje open Assembly next 
day he received 120 votes, scattering, 50. 

Never was reward more swift or signal to the 
master-mind of a campaign. If he had been the 
leader of the extreme Southern wing in Congress, 
he had shown his w^illingness to accept a compro- 
mise and go before the people in defense of the 
Union. 

He was charged with having aroused the Se- 
cession storm. If he had unwittingly done so in 
Congress in order to carry his point, he proved 
himself powerful in stopping it at home. AVhat 
some of his critics had said of him was true: 



■ THE GEORGIA PLATFORM. 95 

"The rasliest of talkers, lie was tlie safest of 
counselors." Certain it is that at a moment of 
national peril lie repelled tlie charge of being an 
" irreconcilable," and proved to be one of tlie 
stancliest supporters of tlie Union. 

In Milledgeville, during the turmoil attending 
the election of United States Senator in Novem- 
ber, 1851 ]\Ir. Toombs wrote to his wife as fol- 
lows : 

Since I wrote you last I have been in the midst of an 
exciting political contest with constantly varying aspects. 
The friends of Judge Berrien are moving every possible 
spring to compass my defeat, but as yet I have constantly 
held the advantage over them. They started Mv. Jenkins 
and kept him up, under considerable excitement, until he 
came to town yesterday and instantly withdi'cw his name. 
To-day tliey have started a new batch of candidates : 
Judge Hill, nines Holt, Warren, Charlton, and others, all 
of whom they seek to combine. I think I can beat the 
whole combination, though it is too close to l)e comfortable. 
It is impossible to give an idea of every varying scene, but 
as I have staked my political fortunes on success, if I am 
defeated in this conflict my political race is over, and per- 
haps I feel too little interest in the result for success. 

Dawson is at home sick ; Stephens is not here ; so I 
am standing very much on my own hand, breasting "the con- 
flict alone. So I shall have the consolation of knoAving 
that, if I succeed, the victory will be all my own. The 
contest will be decided by jNlonday next, and perhaps 

sooner As soon as it is over I shall leave here and 

shall be at home at furthest to-day week. If 1 were not 
comjdicated in this business, nothing would induce me to 



96 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

o-o into it. There are so many iini)leasant things connected 
with it, wliich will at least serve as lessons for the future, 
whatever may be the result. You can see from this letter 
how deeply I am immersed in this contest, A^et I am getting 
so impatient to come home that even defeat would be bet- 
ter than this eternal annoyance. 

Toombs. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE CA^VIPAIGN OF 1852. 

In this first struo-o-le between Secession and the 
Union Georgia had taken the lead, but Georgia 
had not been the only State involved. The fight 
was waged just as fiercely in Mississippi, when 
Henry S. Foote, the Union candidate, was elected 
Governor over Jefferson Davis. But the Geoi'gia 
Platform was the corner-stone of the Southern 
victory. Her action gave peace and quiet to the 
whole Union, and tlie success of the triumvirate 
that year offered assurance of strength and security 
to the country. The national j^arties \\ere quick 
to align themselves on this platform. Tlie Demo- 
cratic convention, Avhich assembled in Baltimore 
June 1, declared that " the party would abide by 
and adhere to a faithful execution of the Acts 
known as the Conqiromise Measures, settled by the 
last Congress." The AVhig convention, which met 
also at Baltimore, June 16, pix>cl aimed that ''the 
series of Acts of the thirty-first Congress, known as 
the Compromise Measures of 1850, the Act known 
as the Fuii;itive-slave law included, are received and 
ac(piiesced in by the AVhig party of the United 
States as a settlement in jn'iuciple and substance 

97 



98 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

of tlie dangerous and exciting questions wliicli 
tliey embrace." 

"The trutli is," said Mr. Stephens in liis ^' War 
Between the States," " an overwhehning majority 
of the people, North as Avell as South, was in 
favor of maintaining these principles." 

Under these conditions the presidential cam- 
paign of 1852 was opened. The Southern Whigs 
did not, as a body, accept the Baltimore, nominee. 
General Wiufield Scott. They claimed that he 
had refused to express any direct approval of the 
platform relating to the compromise. Mr. Toombs 
demanded that his candidate plant himself un- 
equivocally upon this platform. He noticed that 
the opponents of the Fugitive-slave law were 
strong; for Scott. Feelins: in the South was still 
runnins: hiu'h. Some extremists held that no 
Northern man was tit to be trusted. ^Ir. Toombs 
declared that there "svere good and true men at the 
North and that he would " liold party associations 
with no others." 

In a speech to his own townspeople in AVash- 
ington, Ga., during this presidential campaign, 
Mr. Toombs declared that he had not changed one 
iota, but was ready now to support the men who 
w^ould plant themselves on the broad principles of 
the Constitution and the country. He said Gen- 
eral Scott had no claims ^vhatever upon the 
people. He spoke of him as a great general, and 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1853. 99 

alluded in glowing terms to Lis achievements in 
arms against the Mexicans and Indians. But 
General Scott, he believed, was a Free-Soil can- 
didate. He would be in favor of annexing Can- 
ada, but no more slave territory. Mr. Toombs 
alluded to the Democratic candidate for President, 
Genei-al Franklin Pierce, as a very consistent 
man in all his senatorial career, and believed he 
was the safest man on the slavery question north 
of Mason and Dixon's line. He preferred Pierce 
to Scott, but said he would not vote for either. 
The contest was " between a big general and a 
little general." 

Mr. Toombs launched into a magnificent tribute 
to Daniel AYebster as a statesman and friend of 
the Constitution. It was Webster who had stayed 
the flood of abolition and killed the Wihnot Pro- 
viso ; who had dared, in the face of the North, 
and in defiance of his constituents, to boldly de- 
fend the rights of the South and exclaim, '' O 
God, I will be just!" 

This allusion of Mr. Toombs rang throughout 
the State. Its significance lay in the fact that the 
AVhigs of Georgia, in convention assembled, had 
nominated Daniel AYebster for President and 
Charles J. Jenkins for vice-president of the United 
States. Without chance of national success, this 
ticket was received A\'ith strong exj^ression of in- 
dorsement. Since his celebrated " 4th of March " 



100 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

speech, in the Senate, Mr. Webster had been a 
favorite in the South. He had abandoned the 
Wihuot Proviso and accepted tlie Fiigitive-shive 
Law to conciliate the sections, and the addition of 
his great name to seal the Compromise of 1850 
was regarded in the South as an act of patriotism 
reached by few men in the country's history. His 
speech had made a profound impression. " The 
friends of the Union under the Constitution were 
strengthened in their hopes, and inspired with re- 
newed energies by its high and lofty sentiments." 
Commandiug always the I'espect and admiration of 
the Soutliern people Mr. Webster now took the 
place in their affections Just made vacant by the 
death of Henry Clay. Mr. AVebster must have 
})ut aside all political ambition when he made 
this peaceful concession. His new-fouud strength 
in the South did not add to his popularity in 
the Nortli. AYlien the Whig convention of 1852 
met in Baltimore, Mr. AYebster ^vas Secretary of 
State under President Fillmore. He had added 
fresh luster to his name by his latest services to 
the nation. But the prestige of his life and labors 
did not override the passions of the hour, and Win- 
field Scott was nominated for the Pi'esidency. 
This broke the last tie which held the Southern 
Whigs in national allegiance. Circumstances were 
forcing them into the Democratic X3arty, but they 



THE CAMPAIGX OF 1852. 101 

made a final stand under the name of Daniel 
Webster. 

To Mr. Toombs, tlie regard of the AVbigs of 
Georgia for Mr. AVebster was especially gratifying. 
He had lived next door to the great Massachusetts 
statesman durino; his residence in AVashino-ton, 
and had seen him often in the privacy of his 
home. Pie had consulted closely with him during 
the exciting days of the compromise measures, 
and was advised by IMr. '\Yel)ster about the Whig 
platform at Baltimore. He recognized the sur- 
passing greatness of the man, and when he sounded 
the praises of AVebster it came straight from an 
honest heart. 

Charles J. Jenkins, a native of Beaufort, S. C, 
had studied law witli Senator Berrien and ju'acticed 
in Augusta. His nomination to second place on 
the AVebster ticket was a pledge of the high favor 
of the AA'higs. Mr. Jenkins was five years the 
senior of Air. Toombs; had served witli him in 
the State Legislature and, like Toombs, had been 
allied with tlie Troup party in Georgia. Mr. 
Jenkins had been three times Speaker of tlie lower 
bi'ancli of the General Assembly, and in 1842 
had received the entire AVIiig vote for United 
States Senator. Upon tlie resignation of AIc- 
Kennon of Pennsylvania, President Fillmore had, 
through Air. Toombs, offered the Interior Depart- 



102 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

ment to Mr. Jenkins. Tliis position, however, 
was declined because of pressing duties in tlie 
courts. 

In tlie senatorial election of 1851 Mr. Jenkins 
would kave been a formidable candidate for 
United States Senator again, bad not bis strong' 
friendship botb for Senator Berrien and Mr. 
Toombs dictated bis declining tbe use of bis 
name. He was a man of bigb ability and pure 
character. 

Georgia became a national battle-ground during 
this campaign. Besides the regular Whig and 
Democratic and the Webster tickets, there was an 
extreme faction of States' Rights men, w^ho would 
not accept any of these candidates. They called 
on George M. Troup, then living in retirement in 
Montgomery County. He wrote a ringing letter 
accepting the nomination of the " Southern Rights " 
party for President. He was seventy-two years 
old, but his cherished principles, which he had pro- 
claimed in the face of Adams and Jackson, were 
now repeated for the people of another generation, 

The gallant body of Union AVhigs ^vere destined 
to deep affliction. On the 24th of October, 1852, 
ten days before the national election, Daniel Web- 
ster died. The land was filled with lamentation, 
for there was no North, no South, in this sorrow. 

The State of Georgia, which in 1848 had voted 
for Taylor, now turned about and voted for Pierce 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1852. 103 

and King. On November 2d the South Carolina 
Legislature also cast 135 votes for the Pierce 
electors. General Scott carried but four States 
in the Union, caused, as Mr. Stephens and Mr. 
Toombs thought, by his refusal to indorse the 
Compromise of 1850. 

On July 3, 1852, Mr. Toombs, then a member 
of the House, submitted an elaborate statement of 
his political position. He made the point that 
presidents, as then put for^rard, were not real 
representatives of the country or even of a party. 
From the beginning of the government up to 
1836 the presidency had been filled by ripe 
statesmen and tried patriots. All were excluded 
from competition except those who had great 
experience in public affairs, and who had com- 
mended themselves to the people by wisdom, 
virtue, and high services. Such men liad no need 
of hired biographers and venal letter-writers to 
inform the people who tliey were. They needed 
no interpreters of letters to the public, cunningly 
devised to mystify what they pretended to eluci- 
date. National conventions, Mr. Toombs con- 
tended, were contrivances to secure popular sup- 
port to those who were not entitled to public con- 
fidence. 

Mr. Toombs was an enemy to mere convention. 
All party machinery, all irregular organizations, 
which are unknown to the Constitution, he re- 



104 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

garcled as dangerons to pnhlic liberty. He had 
noticed that this maehiueiy liad been deadly to 
the great men of the nation and productive only 
of mediocrity. Obedience to them, he contended, 
was infidelity to popular rights, " This system," 
said he, " has produced none of those illustrious 
men who have become so distinguished in their 
country's history ; none of those political lights 
which have shone so brilliantly on this Western 
continent for half a 'century. Nearly all of them 
have departed from ns. AVho is to take the 
place of the distinguished Carolinian ? " he asked. 
" He was the handiwork of God himself and of 
the people — not party machinery. Who is to 
fill the place of the great Kentuckian ? When 
worthily filled, it will not be by these nurseries 
of faction. 

"The friends of the Compromise," said Mr. 
Toombs, " demand no sectional candidate. They 
were willing to acce2)t the great New England 
statesman, notwithstanding they may point to 
disagreements with him in the past. He has 
thrown the weight of his mighty intellect into the 
scales of concord, in the darkest and most peril- 
ous hour of the conflict. And Southern Whigs 
would have struggled with pride and energy to 
have seen the greatest intellect of the age preside 
over the greatest republic of the world. He was 
defeated in convention by the enemies of the 



THE CAMPAIGX OF 1853. lOo 

compromise measure, because lie was its friend. 
And this was the true reason of his exclusion. 
It is a sufficient reason for the friends of the 
measure, North and South, to oppose and defeat 
General Scott's nomination. IMy action shall 
respond to my convictions." 

Mr. Toombs had seen Calhouu, Clay, and AVeb- 
ster, one by one, retired before Van Buren, Harri- 
son, and Scott. Was it any wonder that, in 
breaking away from the old Whig party, he 
should denounce the system which had blighted 
its brightest men and which, in his opinion, had 
retired the greatest statesman in the world before 
an issue of sectional prejudice ? Mr. Toombs never 
a<^ain gave alle<xiance to conventions or obeyed 
tlie dictates of party caucuses. From 1854 to 
1860 he was a Democrat. After the war he acted 
mainly with the party wliicli sympathized with 
the South. But his great power made him inde- 
pendent. He did not hesitate to criticise Pierce 
or Buchanan, or to upbraid Jefferson Davis, the 
head of the Soutliern Confederacy. He repudi- 
ated the nomination of Horace Greeley by his 
party. He called a meeting in his own room in 
an Atlanta hotel in 1872, and put A. H. Stephens 
before the people for Congress. In 1878, when 
the organized Democracy of Georgia antagonized 
Dr. William H. Felton for Congress in the 
seventh Georgia district, Mr Toombs wrote a letter 



1 06 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

to the press, in wliicli lie declared that party con- 
ventions were merely advisory. " When their 
action becomes authoritative, they are usurpers. 
They deprive the people of free elections. Let 
their actions be approved or disapproved by the 
elections of the people." He supported Mr. 
Stephens, who did not hesitate to " tote his own 
skillet," when occasion required. Toombs' inde- 
pendence was lordly. He believed in the utmost 
freedom in public affairs. Machinery was as 
hateful to him as to Thomas Jefferson. He was 
" the prince of innovation ; the foe to all conven- 
tion." No less than of Burke, it was said of him 
that " born for the universe, he did not surrender 
to party," but General Lougstreet declared of 
Kobert Toombs that he needed only discipline to 
make him a great military genius. This was the 
radical flaw in his make-up. Ho^v near he came 
to the ideal of a statesman posterity must judge. 



CHAPTER IX. 

TOOilBS m THE SEjS"ATE. 

Wheit Robert Toombs entered the Senate of 
the United States, in 1853, the im'soimel of 
that body had changed since the great debates 
on tlie comproniii^e measures. Calhoun had died 
before the compromise was effected, and only a 
short time after his last addi-ess had been read to 
the Senate by Mr. Mason of Vii-giuia. Clay sur- 
vived his last greatest work but two years, and 
on the 29th of June, 1852, was no more. Daniel 
Webster lived only four months longei- than Mi'. 
Clay. Among the new leaders in that body were 
Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, AVilliam INE. 
Seward of New York, Salmon R Chase of Ohio, 
and Charles Sumner of ^lassachusetts. To this 
list may be added the familiar names of Thompson 
of Mississippi, Bayard of Delaware, Toucey of 
Connecticut, Siidell of Louisiana, Achisou of 
Missouri, Bell of Tennessee, and Cass of Michi- 
gan. 

The third i^reat sectional fio-lit on the Teri-itories 
came up on the report to organize a government 
for that tract of public domain lying in the 

107 



108 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Louisiana cession, known as Kansas and Nebraska. 
In doing this, Mr. Dongkis, as cliairjnan of the 
Committee on Territories, adopted the same prin- 
ciple on the skavery question as had been settled 
in the Utah and New Mexico bills of 1850. 

The words of the Nebraska bill were that " said 
Territory, or any portion of the same, shall hQ 
received into the Union with or without slavery 
as their constitutions may prescribe at the time of 
their admission." Mr. Douglas claimed that the 
question of congressional interierence was an 
"exploded doctrine"; that the Missouri Compro- 
mise bill had been ignored by North and South ; 
that the Wilmot Proviso had been rejected 
altogether; and that Xha principles of 1850 had 
superseded the principles of 1 820. The committee 
sought to avoid the perils of slavery agitation for 
all time, they claimed, l)y withdra^ving the ques- 
tion of slavery from the halls of Congress and 
from national politics. " Let the new .States and 
Territories," they said, " settle this matter for them- 
selves." Mr. Sumner of Massachusetts took the 
lead in opposing the Kansas-Nebraska bill. He 
declared that the bill violated the principles of the 
Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in 
all that territory ceded by France and lying north 
of 36° 30'. He and his friends held that this was 
a " sacred compact," and this territory could not 



TO OMBS IN THE SENA TE. 109 

be controlled by tlie same principles as tlie laud 
secured from Mexico. 

The second bill drawn by Mr. Douglas, wLicli 
provided for tlie establisliment of t^vo territorial 
governments in Kansas and Nebraska, instead of 
one, expressly repealed the Missouri Compromise 
as being inconsistent with the principles of non- 
intervention by Congress. Here, then, the contest 
waged anew. 

One of tlie first speeches made by Senator 
Toombs was on tlie 23d of February, 1854, on the 
Kansas-Nebraska bill. 

Douglas was in charge of the Territorial bills, 
and liis readiness in debate, his sinewy intelkx-t, 
his tact and shrewdness, had gained for him tlie 
name of "Little Giant." Seward, Chase, and 
Sumner had been elected from their States as 
"independent Democrats" by the Abolitionists, 
who held the balance of power in New York, Ohio, 
and Massachusetts. Mi-. Toombs was more than 
willing to measure swords with the champions of 
free soil. He declared that he would address him- 
self to the consideration of the Kansas-Nebraska 
bill " with a heart filled with gratitude to the 
Disposer of human events, that after the conflicts 
of more than a third of a century this great ques- 
tion has found its solution, not in temporary ex- 
pedients for allaying sectional discord, but in the 



110 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

true principles of tlie Coustitiitioii and upon tlie 
broad foundation of justice and right, wliicli forms 
the only true basis of fraternity and of national 
concord." 

Mr. Toombs repudiated the lil^el cast by Mr. 
Sumner upon Northern men who " dared to exercise 
the rio:hts of freemen " and diii'er from the Aboli- 
tionists upon this cpiestion. " It appears," said 
lie, "from the speeches of the senator from 
Massachusetts, that all sucli are white slaves, 
whose manhood has been debased and enervated 
by the irresisti]jle attractions of slave j)ower." 
He declared that the men who talked about 
" solemn compact " in this connection were men 
Avlioni " no oaths can bind and no covenants re- 
strain." They called the Missouri Compromise 
a compact, yet showed their willingness to vio- 
late it. 

"In all governments," said Mr. Tooml)s, "the 
acquisitions of the state belong rightfully to the 
people. Mucb more strongly does this principle 
apply to a purely popular government. There- 
fore, any exercise of power to injure or destroy 
those who have equal rights of enjoyment is 
arbitrary, unauthorized by tlie contract, and 
despotic." 

" You have no power to strike from the meanest 
Indian trai)per, the basest ti-ader or canq^-foUower, 
as the senator from New York styled these peo- 



TO OMBS IN THE SENA TE. Ill 

pie, their equal privileges, tliis sovereignty of 
right, which is the birthright of every Ainericau 
citizen. This sovereignty may— nay, it must — 
remain in abeyance until society becomes suffi- 
ciently strong and stable to be entitled to its full 
exercise, as sovereignty does not belong to the 
general government, and its exercise is a marked 
usurpation." 

"The power and duty, then, of this government 
over the inchoate society of the Territories, is 
simply to protect this equalit}'^ of right of persons 
and property of all the members of society until 
the period shall arrive Avhen this dormant sov- 
ereignty shall spring into active existence and 
exercise all the powers of a free, sovereign, and 
independent State. Then it can mold, according 
to its own sovereign will and pleasure, its own 
institutions, with the single restriction that they 
must be republican." 

"Justice," said Mr. Toombs, "is the highest 
expediency, the supremest wisdom. Applying 
that test to the principles of this measure, I say 
that no fair man in any portion of the country 
can come to any other conclusion than that it 
establishes between the people of this Union, who 
are bound together under a common Constitution, 
a firm, a permanent, a lasting bond of harmony. 

" What is it that we of the South ask ? Do we 
make any unjust or unequal demands on the 



1 1 2 ROBERT TO OMBS. 

North ? None. Do we ask what Ave are not 
willing on onr side to grant to tliein ? Not at all. 
We say to thein ' Gentlemen, here is our common 
territory. Whether it be ceded by old States, 
Avdiether it be acquired by the common treasure, 
or was the fruits of successful Avar to Avhich Ave 
rallied, and in Avhich Ave all fought, Ave ask you to 
recognize this great principle of the revolution : 
let such as desire, go there, enjoy their property, 
take with them their flocks and herds, their men- 
servants and maid-servants, if they desire to take 
them there ; and Avhen the appropriate time comes 
for the exercise of the dormant sovereignty of the 
2)eople, let them fix the character of their institu- 
tions for themselves.' " 

Senator Toombs ridiculed the idea of the 
" thunder of popular indignation." " If even this 
Avere true, it should in no Avise control the actions 
of American senators. But it is not real but 
melodramatic thunder — nothing but phosphorus 
and sheet-iron." 

Senator Toombs admitted that the North had 
the })OAver to reject the principles of the Kansas- 
Nebraska bill. They had a majority in the House 
and Senate. Aristides had said, "True, you can 
do it ; you have got the poAver ; but, Athenians, it 
is unjust." 

Senator Toombs Avas a bold man. When he 
adopted a line of argument, he Avas willing to fol- 




X . 



UOBEKT TOO.MB;?, VMTKi) STATKS SENATUlt FKU.M GEOUOIA, 1855. 



TO OMBS IN THE SENA TE. 113 

low wherever its conclusions led. He did not 
hesitate, in this speech, to admit that " if you 
yield to the people the right to mold their institu- 
tions, the establishment of polygamy may result 
legitimately therefrom." This point had been 
made in debate to fight the principle of the 
Kansas-Nebraska bill. Said Senator Toombs : 
" It is just what they have a right to do. AVhen 
the people of Utah make their organic law for ad- 
mission to the Union, they have a right to ap- 
proximate, as nearly as they please, the domestic 
manners of the Patriarchs. Connecticut may es- 
tablish polygamy to-morrow. The people of 
Massachusetts may do the same. How did they 
become possessed of greater rights, in this or any 
other respect, than the people of Utah ? The 
right in both cases has the same foundation — the 
sovereignty of the people." 

Senator Toombs adverted to the fact that Henry 
Clay had denied that he framed the Missouri 
Compromise ; that it did not originate in the 
House, of which he was a member ; that he did 
not even know if he voted for it. Senator Toombs 
held the Act of 1820 to be no compact — binding 
upon no man of honor; but, on the contrary, a 
plain and palpable violation of the Constitution 
and the common riij-hts of the citizens, and ouo;ht to 
be immediately abrogated and repealed. He de- 
clared that it had been rejected by the North 



114 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

wlieu passed, and rejected when Arkansas was 
admitted, wlien Oregon was formed, wlien Cali- 
fornia was received as a State. If tlie Kansas 
bill was settled upon sound and honest principles, 
he maintained that it should be applied to territory 
ceded from France just as elsewhere. He con- 
tended that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was 
not a compromise in any sense of the term, but an 
unconstitutional usurpation of power. " When 
we look into the Constitution, we find no anti- 
slavery power planted in that instrument. On the 
contrary, we find that it amply provides for 
the perpetuity and not for the extinction of 
slavery." 

Senator Toombs closed his first speech in the 
Senate with these words : " The senator from 
New York asks where and when the application 
of these principles will stop. He wishes not to 
be deceived in the future, and asks us whether, 
when we bring the Chinese and other distant 
nations under our flag, we are to apply these prin- 
ciples to them ? For one, I answer yes ; that 
wherever the flao; of the Union shall float, this 
republican principle will follow it, even if it 
should gather under its ample folds the freemen 
of every portion of the universe." 

The Kansas-Nebraska bill reopened the whole 
question of slavery. In the North, it was a fire- 
brand. Mr. Buchanan, in his book, written after 



TOOMBS m THE SENA TE. 1 1 5 

Ills retirement from the presidency, said that the 
South was for the first time the aggressor in this 
legislation. Mr. Fillmore declared that the repeal 
of the Missouri Compromise was " the Pandora 
Box of Evil." Mr. Douglas was reviled by liis 
opponents and burned in effigy at the Korth. His 
leadership in this fight was ascribed to his over- 
weening ambition to reacli the presidenc}'. Tlie 
clero-ymen of New England and of Chicao'o 
Hooded the Senate with petitions crying against 
this "intrigue." On May 26, 1854, at one 
o'clock in the morning, the bill passed the Senate 
by a vote of 31 to 13. The "nays " were Messrs. 
Allen, Bell, Chase, Clayton, Fish, Foote, Gillet, 
Hamlin, James, Se\vard, Sumner, AVade, and 
AValker. 

The enactment of this measure into a law did 
not settle the question. It resulted in a strife in 
the Territories themselves. For two years Kansas 
was in a state of civil war. The Emigrant Aid 
Societies of New Enii-land raised laro-e sums of 
money to send to the Territories Free-Soil set- 
tlers and other aojitators. A counter-stream of 
agitators set in from Missouri, in sympathy with 
the slavery men, and the result was a long series 
of bloody disorders. In Februarj^, 1856, Mr. 
Toombs made a speech upon the message of the 
President in regard to the lawless condition of 
Kansas. The Governor informed President Pierce 



116 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

tliat tlie laws were obstructed and oj)enly resisted 
by bodies of armed men; tliat prisoners were 
rescued from tlie sheriffs, peaceable inhabitants 
murdered, and houses burned. Another authority 
informed the President that an overwhelmino; 
force was crossing the border for the avowed 
purpose of inwading Kansas and butchering the 
unoffending Free-State citizens. One side claimed 
protection from insurrection within, the other 
from invasion Avithout. 

As to the Emigrant Aid Societies, Mr. Toombs 
said, " AVhatever be their policy, whatever their 
tendency to produce strife, if they simply aid 
emigrants from Massachusetts to go to Kansas to 
become citizens of that Territory, I am prepared 
to say that they violate no law; they have a 
right to do it, and every attempt to prevent their 
doing so violates the law and ought not to 
be sustained. But if they send persons there 
furnished with arms, with the intent to offer 
forcible resistance to the constituted authorities, 
they are guilty of the highest crime known to 
civil society, and are amenable to its penalties. 
1 shall not undertake to decide upon their con- 
duct. The facts are not before me, and I there- 
fore pass it by." 

Mr. Toombs thoug-ht it would be difficult to 
imagine a case calling more loudly for the inter- 
vention of Federal power. Mr. Toombs favored 



TOOMBS IN THE SENATE. HV 

tlie supremacy of the law iu tlie Territories at 
any cost. '' If traitors seek to disturb tlie peace 
of tlie country, I desire that it shall be no sec- 
tional contest. I do not see the end of that. I 
prefer that the conflict shall be between the 
Federal Government and the lawless. I can see 
the end of that. The law will triumph and the 
evil stop." 

" AVe who pass this Kansas-Nebraska bill, both 
at the North and South, intend to maintain its 
principles. We do not intend to be driven from 
them by clamor nor by assault. We intend that 
the actual hona fide settlers of Kansas shall be 
protected in the full exercise of all the rights of 
freemen; that, unawed and uncontrolled, they 
shall freely and of their own will legislate for 
themselves, to every extent allowed by the Con- 
stitution, while they have a territorial govern- 
ment ; and when they shall be in a condition to 
come into the Union and may desire it, that they 
shall come into the Union with whatever repub- 
lican constitution they may prefer and adopt for 
themselves ; that in the exercise of their rights 
they shall be protected from insurrection from 
within and invasion from without." 

In ansAver to Senator Hale of New Hampshire, 
Senator Toombs agreed that the Territory of Kan- 
sas would certainly be a free State. Such, he 
thought would be its future destiny. "The sen- 



lis . ROBERT TOOMBS. 

ator fi'om New Hampshire," he said, " was unable 
to compreheud the principles of the bill. The 
friends of the Kansas bill, North and South, sup- 
ported the bill because it was right, and left the 
future to those who were affected by it. The 
policy of the Kansas bill wrongs no man, no sec- 
tion of our common country. We have never 
asked the government to carry by force, or in any 
way, slavery anywhere. We only demand that 
the inhabitants of the Territories shall decide the 
question for themselves without the interference 
of the government or the intermeddling of those 
who have no right to decide." 

Mr. Toombs and Senator Hale of New Hamp- 
shire seem to have been pitted squarely against 
each other in this great debate. 

In 1854, during the progress of the Kansas de- 
bate, Mr. Toombs occupied Mr. Hale's desk, and 
alluded to the taunts which Mr. Hale had heaped 
upon the heads of senators who had sustained 
the compromise measures of 1850. He had pre- 
dicted that they would be driven from their seats ; 
that the mighty North Avould drive them from 
their benches. The distiniruished senator from 
Michigan, Mr. Cass, was the esjiecial object of 
these assaults. " But the result," said Mr. Toombs, 
looking about him, " is that the gentleman ^vho made 
these declarations is not here." 

In 1856, however, Mr. Hale was returned to the 



TOOMBS IN TEE SENATE. 119 

Senate and met Mr. Toombs in the Kansas debate, 
and the discussion was continued witli the same 
acrimony. 

" Let there be no legislative aggression on either 
side," continued ]\Ir. Toombs. " If the senator 
from New Hampshire is sincere, he will stand 
there. The common property is open to the 
common enjoyment of all. Let it remain so." 

Mr. Toombs charged Senator Hale with saying 
that the N^rth had always been practically in a 
minority in the Senate, because the South bought 
up as many Northern men as it wanted. " Sir, I 
stand here to-day in behalf of the North to repel 
the accusation." 

Mr. Hale: "Who made it?" 

Mr. Toombs : " You said it. I have it before 
me in your printed speech. I heard it delivered, 
and you are correctly reported." 

In a letter to Mr. B. F. Ilallet of Boston, in 
185G, Mr. Toombs denied saying that he would 
" call the roll of his slaves at the base of Bunker 
Hill Monument." He charged Senator Hale with 
misrepresenting him to this extent. 

No man was oftener misquoted by word of 
mouth or in public print. As bold as he was in 
speecli and as free to speak out what was in his 
mind, he once remarked to an intimate friend. Dr. 
Steiner of Augusta, that he rarely ever saw his 
name in print that it was not attached to a lie. 



120 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

We are not left to tradition or tlie dictum of 
political opponents to know how seriously Mr. 
Toombs regarded tlie question of war between 
the North and South. In this same debate with 
Senator Hale, Mr. Toombs said : " He told us the 
North would fight. I believe that nobody ever 
doubted that any portion of the United States 
would fight on a proper occasion. Sir, if there 
shall ever be civil war in this country, when hon- 
est men shall set about cutting each other's throats, 
those who are least to be depended upon in a 
fight will be the people who set them at it. 
There are courageous and honest men enough in 

both sections to fight No, sir, there is no 

question of courage involved. The people of both 
sections of the Union have illustrated their cour- 
age on too many battlefields to be questioned. 
They have shown their fighting qualities, shoulder 
to shoulder, whenever their country has called 
upon them; but that they may never come in 
contact with each other in fratricidal war, should 
be the ardent Avish and earnest desire of every true 
man and honest patriot." 



CHAPTER X. 

THE " KNOW-XOTIIIXG " PARTY. 

In the fall of 1854 the elections were generally 
adverse to the Democrats. The slavery agitation 
at the North, intensified by the passage of the 
Kansas-Nebraska bill, resulted in a large number 
of Free-Soil candidates and " anti-Nebraska " 
Whio;s beino; elected to the House. In the AVest 
and South, the " Kno^v'-nothing " movement had 
arisen as in a single night, and with secrecy and 
strength had asserted itself on election day. The 
consequence was that the Democratic majority in 
the House which had been elected ^vitll Franklin 
Pierce now disappeared. The years of 1854-55 
were full of uncertainty in Georgia. The old- 
line Whigs, who had broken away from their 
party associates upon the nomination of General 
Scott for President, had not yet gone into full 
affiliation with the Democrats. Many of these 
men Joined the '^American party," which had 
arisen out of antaoronism to the laro-e foreitrn 
population flowing into the States and Territories. 
This party put out candidates for Congress and 
the State offices in Georgia. 

121 



122 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

To Alexander H. Stephens, more tlian to any 
other man, was due the honor of breaking up the 
Know-nothing movement in Georgia. Amazed at 
the rapidity ^vith which this party organized and 
the completeness with which it worked ; repudi- 
ating the principles which it held and the pro- 
scriptions which it enforced, Alexander Stephens 
announced, early in the day, that he would not be 
a candidate for reelection to Congress. He de- 
clared, in a letter, that, from the secrecy of the 
order, he was unable to know Avdiat they were 
doing, and, as political principles should come out 
in the open sunlight for inspection, he could not 
submit his candidacy to any such concern. He 
did not hesitate to condemn the practices and 
creed of the American party in public. Promi- 
nent leaders in his district who recognized his 
ability made it known that they were willing to 
support him, if he would not be so severe in his 
denunciations. Mr. Stephens promptly replied 
that the crisis recpiired the knife, not the poultice. 
However, he did run for Congress and scored the 
secret order on every stump in the district. He 
declared, in a speech in Augusta, that he " was 
not afraid of anything on the earth, above the 
earth, or l^eloAV the eai'th, except to do wrong." 
Mr. Stephens was elected. Eeligious fanaticism 
and race prejudice received a death blow in 



THE '•KNOW-NOTHmG" PARTY. 123 

Georgia. " It writhed in pain, and died among its 
worshipers." 

Mr. Toombs had already made himself felt in 
this campaign. He was in the shadow of a 
domestic affliction. His youngest daughter died 
in February of that year. This occurrence 
brought him to decide upon a trip abroad, which 
he had long anticipated, but which his busy and 
eventful life had not allowed him to enjoy. 

In April, 1855, he wrote his wife : 

I feel more and more anxious to get abroad and out of 
this country ; to be relieved of the thousand harassments 
of business, and look for a great deal of pleasure in our 
quiet and uninterrupted strolling over the hills and plains 
of Europe, where nobody knows us and nobody can harass 
me with business or their troubles. I wish I could, like our 
darling child, tliank God there was rest in Heaven. 

Just before he left the State, he attended the 
Supreme Court of Georgia, at ]\[illedgeville. At 
that time he wrote his wife : 

I have had a hard, close week's work. The Lawyers 
very kindly gave way and allowed my cases to come this 
week, which brought tliem very close togetlier, and, as I 
am but ill prepared for them, not liaving given them any 
attention last winter, ami but liith' this spring, I have been 
pretty much speaking all da}'' and studying all night — ^and 
that without the benefit of " specks," which I am begin- 
ning to need. 

All the old Whigs here have joined the Know-noth- 



1 24 nOBERT TOOMBS. 

ings, and keep very sliy of me, as I liave spoken not softly 
of the miserable wretches who expect to govern a great 
country like this with imbecility, if they can only cover it 
with secrecy. I have been greatly beset not to go to Eu- 
rope this summer, as the political campaign is likely to be 
hot. I shall go, and the rather that I may avoid such an 
event, and take that leisure and repose with my family in 
foreign countries which I seem to be totally incapable of 
getting at home. 

Mr. Toombs left no doubt as to liow lie regarded 
the American party. In a speech on the Kansas- 
Nebraska l)ill, he had declared that the country 
could assimilate the foreigners from Europe and 
the Chinamen from Asia, and gather under the 
ample folds of the American flag every nation on 
earth. 

It is related that in the early part of Mr. 
Toombs' political career he 'was accused of 
haviuo: subscribed to build a Catholic church 
in Georgia. The charge was repeated secretly 
from ear to ear until it came to his friends. It 
was on the eve of an election in Wilkes County, 
and a delegation, in spite of the lateness of the 
hour, went to Mr. Toombs' residence, awoke him, 
and asked for an authoritative denial of what they 
considered a damaging charge. Mr. Toombs list- 
ened to the delegation, and then declared with 
emphasis, not free from profanity, that it was so. 
"I have responded to their calls just as I have 
those of other denominations. You can tell the 



THE "KNOW-NOTHING" PARTY. 125 

people tLat the distribution of my money is none 
of their business." 

This bold and prompt reply did not prevent his 
reelection to the legislature the next day. 

No man was more liljeral in matters of religion 
and conscience than Mr. Toombs. In 1851 he 
wrote his wife in reply to a letter informing him 
that his daughter wanted to join the Methodist 
Church : 

I am content if she desires, and you wisb it. My opin- 
ions about revivals, to which you refer, have been long 
formed and much strengthened by my experience in the 
world, but I am not at all desirous that they should be the 
rule of anybody's conduct but my own. I have therefore 
endeavored to stand npon the Protestant principle in mat- 
ters of conscience, of judging for myself and allowing oth- 
ers to do the same. The Judge of the Earth will do right 
at the final hearing. 

On June 6, 1855, Mr. Toombs set sail from 
New York, in company with his wife and daugh- 
tei', and Mr. AV. F. Alexander, his son-at-law. In 
ten days, after a smooth trip, he landed in Liver- 
pool, with just enough roughness off the coast of 
Ireland to show old Neptune in his element. Mr. 
Toombs was in the very prime of a vigorous life. 
He had accumulated a competency at the law, was 
in fine physical condition, and had a mind broad, 
sensitive, and retentive. He could stand any 
amount of travel — this man who rode his cir- 
cuits on his horse, and who endured the wear- 



126 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

iiig trips from Georgia to tlie national capital. 
He remarked at tlie outset of his European trip 
that he had more money than time, so he secured 
special conveyances at every availal^le place, and 
pushed his journey to all points of interest. From 
London he went to Paris, Lyons, Marseilles, thence 
to the Mediterranean, where he passed the Fourth 
of July plowing his way to Naples, sleeping on 
deck to escape the stuffy stateroom of the little 
steamer, and catching all the cinders from the 
smokestack. Embarking at Naples, he went to 
Rome, where he ^vas entranced to see the historic 
spots of the Eternal City. Rome had for him more 
charms than Paris. Crossing the Alps, he ^vent to 
Geneva, and striking the Rhine, he i)roceeded by 
boat to Amsterdam, thence to Brussels, where he 
walked over the held of AVaterloo. Leaving his 
family in Paris, he crossed to England and made 
a tour alone through Ireland and Scotland. 

As an American senator, Robert Toombs bore 
letters of introduction to prominent people in 
Europe. His reputation was international, his ac- 
quaintance ^\ ith the diplomatists of the Old World 
w^as extensive, and his kno^N ledge of the history 
and government of the different countries was 
complete. But he did not seek notoriety in his 
trip abroad. He presented none of his letters. 
He preferred to travel among the people, and at 
night, like Jean Yaljeau, he loved to see the hoitr- 



THE "KNOW-NOTHING" PARTY. 127 

geois in their gardens and at tlieir ease, in order to 
study tlieir Labits and condition. lie took great 
interest in the laborers. On one occasion lie got 
down from liis diligence to ask a man, who was 
drawing water from a well to irrigate the land, 
how much he ^vas paid for this slow and cumber- 
some process. He was astonished to hear that it 
"vvas but twelve cents a day. 

Mr. Toombs s})oke the French language ; he 
studied the people, and no man was a better judge 
of human nature. He said when he returned that 
the Southern slave was better treated and was a 
better laborer than most of the peasants A\hom he 
had seen. 

His conversation during his European trip was 
bright and racy. He never fagged in bod}' or 
mind. He never became a triiier or a tease. He 
was not a man who cared for his personal comforts 
or appetites. Occasionally he Avoidd al^use the 
hotels as being far behind the American hostelry. 
Now and then he would Jest \A\\i his guide or in- 
dulge in bright raillery over the Italian peddler 
with the inevitable cigarette. He made it a rule 
to smoke a cigar in every country, to test the to- 
bacco, and also to sample the ^vine of every nation. 
He drank but little at that time, never touching 
ardent spirits in any wtiy. (xood-humor, good 
health, and happiness followed him as he made the 
circuit of the Continent. 



128 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Just three montlis were passed by liim iu tlie 
Old World. He arrived iu New York iu Septem- 
ber, 1855, where telegrams awaited him, summou- 
iug him to a desperate campaigu iu Georgia. 

The coutest iu Georgia that year was sharp. 
The Americau party elected several members of 
Cougress, but their caudidate for Goveruor, Judge 
Audrews, was defeated by Herschel V. Johusou. 
The latter was oue of the strougest Deuiocrats iu 
Georgia. He had, iu 1853, beeu elected Goveruor 
over so able a mau as Charles J. Jeukius. 

Mr. Toombs pluuged at ouce iuto the cauvass 
and proceeded, iu his own vigorous way, to light 
the Know-nothings. 



CHAPTER XL 

TOOMBS IN BOSTON. 

In 1856, Mr. Toombs visited Boston, and de- 
livered a lectiu'e upon slavery. It was a bold 
move, and many of liis friends advised against it. 
They did not see wliat good would come fi-om tlie 
appearance of an extreme Southern man in the 
heart of abolitionism, carrying his doctrines to the 
very citadel of antislavery. But Toombs, Avith 
dramatic determination, decided to accept. Sev- 
eral Southern statesmen had been invited to ap- 
pear before Bcjston audiences, but prudence had 
kept them from complying. 

On the evening of the 24th of January, Mr. 
Toombs ascended the stage at Tremont Temple. 
A large audience greeted him. There was great 
curiosity to see the Southern leader. They ad- 
mired the splendid audacity of this man in coming 
to the place where Garrison had inveighed against 
slavery and had denounced the Constitution as a 
" league with Hell and a covenant with the Devil " ; 
where Wendell Phillips had exerted his matchless 
oratory, and where Charles Sumner had built up 
his reputation as an unflagging enemy of South- 

129 



130 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

era 2^ropagandism. Mr. Toombs was iu good trim 
for this supreme effort. Inspired by the signifi- 
cance of liis mission, Le seemed possessed of un- 
usual strengtli. His fine eye liglited witli Lis 
tlieme, and Lis brow seemed stamped witL confi- 
dence ratLer tLan defiance. His long, black Lair 
w^as brusLed from Lis foreLead, and Lis deep 
voice filled tLe Listoric Lall. He was indeed a 
fine specimen of a man — a Saul among Lis fellows. 
Possibly Le was moved by tLe tLougLt tLat Le 
stood wLere Webster Lad pleaded for tLe Union, 
for concession, and for Larmony six years before, 
wLen tLe people for tLe first time Lad turned 
from Lim and wLen Fanueil Hall Lad been closed 
asrainst Lim. 

Senator Toombs was attended upon tLe stage 
by William and NatLan Appleton, wLose guest 
Le was. TLeir presence w^as a guarantee tLat tLe 
speaker sLould receive a respectful Learing. It 
was noticed at tLe outset tLat Le Lad abandoned 
Lis fervid style of speaking. He delivered Lis 
address from notes in a caLn and deliberate man- 
ner. He never prepared a speecL witL so mucL 
care. His discourse was so logical and profound, 
Lis bearing so dignified and impressive, tLat Lis 
hearers were reminded of Webster. 

It was evident early in tLe evening tLat Lis 
lecture would produce a powerful effect. To 
many of Lis Learers Lis views were novel and 



TOOMBS IN BOSTON. 131 

fresli, as tliey had never heard the Southern side 
of this great question. " With the exception of 
Sam Houston," said a New York paper, " Mr. 
Toombs is the only Southern man who has had 
the pluck to go into the antislavery camp and 
talk aloud of the Constitution. Other Southern 
men, not afraid to face Boston, have been afraid 
to face opinion at home." 

In referring to the clause of the Constitution 
providing for the return of fugitive slaves, Mr. 
Toombs was greeted by a hiss. The speaker 
turned in the direction of the noise and said, " I 
did not put that clause there. I am only giving 
the history of the action of your own John 
Adams; of your fathei's and mine. You may 
hiss them if }ou choose." The effect was electri- 
cal. The hiss was drowned in a storm of applause. 
The readiness and good-nature of the retort swept 
•Boston off her feet, and for one moment prejudice 
was forcrotten. 

The New York Expre^^s declared that the 
speaker was earnest and deliberate, presenting his 
argument with great j)0wer, and his lecture of an 
hour and a half was, for the most part, listened to 
with respect and attention. There ^vas some con- 
duct in the audience at the close which the Boston 
Journal was forced to denounce as " unirentle- 
manly." Three cheers, not unmixed \^•ith dissent, 
were given to the distinguished speaker. Some- 



132 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

one called out, " AVlieu will Charles Sumner be 
allowed to speak in tlie Soutli 1 " 

The New York Express declared that " if 
Toouibs and other hotheads would lecture in 
Syracuse, Oswego, Ashtabula, and other points of 
'Africa,' they would do a good deal of good in 
educating the innocents and becoming themselves 
educated and freed from fire, froth, fury, and 
folly." 

This lectm^e of Mr. Toombs at Boston will live 
as the most lucid defense of slavery in law and 
in practice ever delivered. Slavery has fallen and 
mankind has made up its verdict ; but this address 
will still be read with interest. 

He did not hesitate to say that Congress had no 
right to limit, restrain, or impair slavery ; but, on 
the contrary, Avas bound to protect it. At the time 
of the Declaration of Independence, slavery was a 
fact. The Declaration did not emancipate a siugle 
slave ; neither did the Articles of Confederation. 
The Constitution recognized'slavery. Every clause 
relative to slavery was intended to strengthen and 
protect it. Congress had no power to prohibit 
slavery in the Territories. The clause giviug Con- 
gress power to make regulations for the Territories 
did not confer general jurisdiction. It was not 
proper nor just to prohibit slavery in the Terri- 
tories. Penning the negro up in the old States 
would only make him wretched and miserable, and 



TOOMBS IN BOSTON. 133 

would not strike a single fetter from his limbs. 
Mr. Toombs simply asked that the common terri- 
tory be left open to the common enjoyment of all 
the people of the United States ; that they should 
be protected in theii' persons and property by the 
general government, until its authority be super- 
seded by a State constitution, when the character 
of their democratic institutions was to be deter- 
mined by the freemen thereof. " This," he said, 
" is justice. This is constitutional equity." Mr. 
Toombs contended that the compromise measm-es 
of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 
were made to conform to this policy. " I trust — I 
believe," he continued, " that when the transient 
passions of the day shall have subsided, and reason 
shall have resumed her dominion, it mil be ap- 
proved, even applauded, by the collective body 
of the people." 

Uj)on the second branch of his theme, Mr. 
Toombs contended that so long as the African and 
Caucasian races co-exist in the same society, the 
subordination of the African is the normal and 
proper condition, the one ^\hicli promotes the 
highest interests and greatest happiness of both 
races. The superiority of the white man over the 
black, he argued, was not transient or artificial. 
The Crown had introduced slavery among the 
American colonists. The question was not whether 
it was just to tear the African away from bondage 



184 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

in his own country and place liim here. England 
had settled that for us. When the colonies be- 
came free they found seven hundred thousand 
slaves among them. Our fathers had to accept 
the conditions and frame governments to cover it. 
They incorporated no Utopian theories in their 
system. They did not so much concern themselves 
about what rights man might possibly have in a 
state of nature, as what rights he ought to have in 
a state of society. The lecturer maintained that 
under this system, the African in the slaveholding 
States is found in a better position than he has 
ever attained in any other age or country, whether 
in bondage or freedom. The great body of this 
race had l^een slaves in foreign lands and slaves in 
their native land. In the Eastern Hemisphere the 
African had always been in a servile condition. 
In Hayti and Jamaica experiments had been tried 
of freeing them, under the auspices of France and 
England. Miseries had resulted and ruin over- 
whelmed the islands. "Fanaticism may palliate, 
but could not conceal the utter prostration of the 
race." The best specimens of the race were to be 
found in the Southern States, in closest contact 
with slavery. The North does not want the negro, 
does not encourage his immigration. The great 
fact of the inferiority of the race is admitted 
everywhere in our country. 

" Our political system gives the slave great and 



TOOMBS IN BOSTON. 135 

valuable rights. His life is protected ; Lis person 
secured from assault against all otliers except liis 
master, and his master's power in this respect is 
placed under salutary legal restriction." He gets 
a home, amjile clothing and food, and is exempted 
from excessive labor. When no longer capable of 
labor, from age or disease, he is a legal charge 
upon his master. The Southern slave, lie said, is a 
larger consumer of animal food than any population 
in Europe, and larger than any laboring population 
in the United States, and their natural increase is 
equal to that of any other people. Interest and 
humanity cooperate in harmony for the well-being 
of slave labor. Labor is not deprived of its wages. 
Free labor is paid in money, the representative of 
products ; slave labor in the products themselves. 
The aixricultural and unskilled laborers of Eno;land 
fail to earn the comforts of the Southern slave. 
The compensation of labor in the Old World has 
been reduced to a point scarcely adequate to the 
continuation of the race. 

" One-half the lands of the cotton States is an- 
nually planted in food crops. This half is con- 
sumed by the laborers and animals. The tenant 
in the Noi'tli does not realize so much." 

Mr. Toombs believed that the Southern men 
were awakening to the conviction that the slave 
should be taught to read and wiite, as being of 
more use to himself, his master, and society. He 



136 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

realized tliat the laws sliould protect maniage and 
otlier domestic ties, forbidding tlie separation of 
families, and stated that some of the slaveholding 
States had already adopted partial legislation for 
the removal of these evils. But the necessities of 
life and the roving spirit of the Avhite people pro- 
duced an infinitely greater amount of separation in 
families than ever happened to the colored race. 
" The injustice and despotism of England toward 
Ireland has produced more separation of Irish 
families and sundered more domestic ties within 
the last ten years than African slaveiy has effected 
since its introduction into the United States." 
England keeps 100,000 soldiers, a large na\y, and 
innumerable police to secure obedience to her social 
institutions, and physical force is the only guaran- 
tee of her social order, the only cement of her 
gigantic empire. The laws restrain the abuses 
and punish the crimes of the slave system. Slav- 
ery is impossible in England and Europe, because 
wages have gone down to a point ^vhere they are 
barely sufficient to support the laborer and his 
family. Capital could not afford to own labor. 
Slavery ceased in England in obedience to this law, 
and not from any regard to liberty and humanity. 
Senator Toombs declared that the condition of 
the African might not be permanent among us. 
He might find his exodus in the unvarying laAV of 
population. Increase of population may supply to 



TOOMBS IN BOSTON. 13 7 

slavery its eutlianasia in tlie general prostration of 
all labor. The emancipation of the negro in the 
West Indies had not made him a more useful or 
productive member of society. The slave States, 
with one-half the white population, and between 
3,000,000 and 4,000,000 slaves, furnish three-fifths 
of the annual product of the republic. In this re- 
lation, the lal)<)r of the country is united with and 
protected by its capital, directed by the educated 
and intelligent. 

Senator Toombs combated the idea that slavery 
deljased and enervated the white man. To the 
Hebrew race were committed the orders of the 
Most High. Slaveholding piiests ministered at 
their altars. Greece and Rome afforded the highest 
forms of civilization. Domestic slavery neither 
enfeeldes nor deteriorates a race. Burke had de- 
clared that the people of the Southern colonies of 
America were much more strongly, and mth a 
higher and more stubborn s]>irit, attached to liberty 
tliat those to the Northward. Such were our 
Gothic ancestors ; such were the Poles ; such will 
be all masters of slaves who are not slaves them- 
selves. In such a people the liaughtiness of dom- 
ination combines itself with the spirit of fi'eedoni, 
fortifies it, and renders it invincible. 

Senator Toombs declared that, in the great 
agitation which for thirty years had shaken 
the national government to its foundation and 



138 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

burst tlie bonds of Christian unity among the 
churches, the slaveholding States have scarcely 
felt the shock Stability, progress, order, peace, 
content, prosperity reign through our borders. 
Not a sinsfle soldier is to be found in our domain 
to overawe or protect society. Mr. Toombs pic- 
tured the progress of the Southern chm-ches, 
schools and colleges multiplying. None of these 
improvements had been aided ]3y the Federal Gov- 
ernment. " We have neither sought from it pro- 
tection for our private interests nor appropriations 
for our public improvements. They have been 
effected by the unaided individual efforts of an en- 
lightened, moral, and energetic people. Such is 
our social system and such our condition under it. 
We submit it to the judgment of mankind, with 
the &m conviction that the adoption of no other, 
under such circumstances, would have exhibited 
the individual man, bond or free, in a higher de- 
velopment or society in a happier civilization." 

Mr. Toombs carried his principles into practice. 
He owned and operated several large plantations in 
Georgia, and managed others as agent or executor. 
He had the care of, possibly, a thousand slaves. 
His old family servants idolized him. Freedom 
did not alter tlae tender bond of aifection. They 
clung to him, and many of them remained with 
him and ministered to his family to the day of his 
death. The old plantation negroes never failed to 



TOOMBS IN BOSTON. 139 

receive his bomity or good will. During the sale 
of a plantation of an insolvent estate Mr. Toombs, 
who was executor, wrote to his wife, " The slaves 
sold well. There were few instances of the sepa- 
ration of families." He looked after the welfare of 
all his dependents. While he was in the army, his 
faithful servants took care of his wife and little 
grandchildren, and during his long exile from his 
native land they looked after his interests and 
watched for his return. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Buchanan's administeatioist. 

The 2:reat contest of 1856 was coinino; on. A 
President was to be cLosen. Tlie relations of tlie 
sections were more strained every day. The elec- 
tions of 1854 had eml)oldened the antislavery 
men to form the Republican party, and to put 
out, as their candidate, John C. Fremont, "pio- 
neer and pathfinder," who had saved California 
to the Union. Fremont was not a statesman, but 
a hero of the kind who dazzled men, and was 
thought to be especially available as a presiden- 
tial candidate. "Free soil, Free men, Fremont" 
was the cry, and it was evident that the Aboli- 
tionists had swept all the wavering Whigs into 
their lines and would make a determined fight. 
The American party nominated Millard Fillmore, 
and the Democracy, with a wealth of material 
and a non-sectional following, wheeled into line. 
President Pierce Avas willing to succeed himself. 
Stephen A. Douglas, Avho had rushed into the 
convention of 1852 mth such reckless dash to put 
aside " the old fogies " of the party, was an avowed 
candidate. His championship of the Kansas-Ne- 

140 



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 141 

braska bill bad made bim a favorite in tbe Soutb, 
altboiigb it injured bis cbances at tbe Nortb. It 
is not a little remarkable tbat Douglas, wbose 
candidacy bad tbe eit'ect of setting aside Bucbanan 
for Pierce in 1852, sbould afterward bave been 
tbe means of turning down Pierce for Bucbanan. 

James Bucbanan of Pennsylvania bad just re- 
turned from London, wbere be bad served wdtb 
dignity as American Minister. Free from recent 
animosities, be entered tbe field, fresb and full of 
prestige. He was nominated for President on tbe 
tiftb day of tbe Democratic Convention, Georgia 
casting ber vote for bim. Tbe Cincinnati plat- 
form adopted tins plank: 

'■'' liesolved : Tbat we recomiize tbe rig-bt of tbe 
people of tbe Territories, including Kansas and 
Nebraska, acting tbroiigb tbe legally and fairly 
expressed will of a majority of tbe actual resi- 
dents, and wbeuever tlie number of tbeir inbabi- 
tants justifies it, to form a Constitution, eitber 
witb or witbout domestic slavery, and to be ad- 
mitted into tbe Union upon terms of perfect equal- 
ity witb all tbe otber States." 

Amono; tbe causes contributino; to tbe current 
bitterness was tbe assault made upon diaries 
Sumner, senator from Massacbusetts, by Preston 
S. Brooks, a representative from Soutb Carolina. 
Tbis bappened in May, 1856, wbile Mr. Sumner 
was sitting at bis desk, after tbe Senate bad ad- 



142 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

journed. Mr. Brooks took exceptiou to some 
remarks printed iu Mr. SumDer''8 speecli, entitled 
"Tlie Crime against Kansas." In tliis speech, tlie 
senator Lad referred, in i-atlier canstic terms, to 
Senator Butler of South Carolina. The latter 
^vas a kinsman of Mr. Brooks. The weapon used 
by Mr. Brooks was a gutta-percha cane, and Sena- 
tor Sumner, who was a large, powerful man, in his 
effort to rise from his seat, forced his desk from its 
hinges and fell heavily to the floor. The assault 
created an immense sensation. It was associated 
in the heated minds at the North with the " slav- 
ery aggressions of the South." At the South, it 
was generally excused as the resentment of an 
impetuous young man to an insult offered an 
elderly kinsman. Northern men denounced the 
assault in unmeasured terms on the floor of the 
House and Senate. The affair led to several chal- 
lenges between the representatives of both sec- 
tions. Congressman Brooks resigned his seat, but 
was immediately reelected. 

When Senator Sumner made his statement of 
the attack, he said that, after he was taken from 
the floor, he saw his assailant standing bet>veen 
Senator Douglas and Senator Toombs. This led 
to the assertion by some parties that the attack 
was premeditated, and that the senator from 
Illinois and the senator from Georgia, who were 
strong political antagonists of Mr. Sumner, were 



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 1-13 

aiding and abetting it. Both senators denied tliis 
from tlieii' places. 

The political activity was not confined to the 
North. There ^vas a large element in Georgia 
which disapproved of the Kansas-Nebraska bill as 
an nnwise concession on the part of the Sontli. 
Tliis class, combined with the American party, 
presented an active front against the party led by 
Senator Toombs. No contest was ever waged 
more vigorously in Georgia. New blood and new 
issues were infused into the fight. ^^Ir. Toombs 
was at the maximum of his greatness. He took 
redoubled interest in the campaign in that the 
leo-islature to be chosen in 1857 was to elect his 
successor to the Senate, and because the principles 
in this national contest were taking shape for a 
State campaign the following yeai\ 



CHAPTER XIII. 

^ON THE stump" IN GEORGIA. 

Among tlie young men on the stump tliat year 
was Benjamin H. Hill. He liad come up from 
the plow-handles in Jasper County. Working his 
way to an education, he had graduated at the 
State University in 1 845, with the first honors of 
his class. He was at this time barely more than 
thirty }^ears of age, but he had won distinction at 
the bar and served his county in the State Senate. 
He was known for his aggressive, ringing elo- 
quence, and a clear, searching st}de which had 
made him something more than local reputation. 
It was understood that he was the choice of the 
American party for Governor, and it was assumed 
that he would win his spurs in the national cam- 
paign. He did not hesitate to go into the thick- 
est of the fight. He challenged Toombs and 
Stephens in their strongholds; on the 2 2d of Octo- 
ber meeting Mr. Stephens at his stamping-ground 
in Lexington, Oglethorpe County, and the next 
day confronting Mr. Toombs at his home in Wash- 
ington, Ga. There ^^'as a charm in the very 
audacity of this young Georgian. The man who 

144 



" Olf^ THE STUMP" ZZV GEORGIA. 145 

would beard " the Douglas in liis liall " was a curi- 
osity to the people, for since the leadership of 
Toombs ^vas established in 1844, no one, probably, 
had assumed to cross swords with him before his 
home people. The fact that young Hill had 
rather frustrated Mr. Stephens, in their first meet- 
ing, gave him fresh impetus for his clash with 
Toombs. People flocked to AYashingtou by thou- 
sands. A large part of the audience which had 
cheered Ben Hill in Oglethorpe followed him to 
Wnkes. 

Tlie speaking took place in Andrews' Grove, a 
noble cluster of oaks near the town, and by break- 
fast-time the place was filled with carriages and 
wagons. The red hills leading to Washington 
were alive with farmers and their wives and 
children, wheeling into the grove to hear the noble 
veteran and the brilliant young stranger debate 
upon current topics. Old and young men were 
there, and babies in arms. It was before the days 
of a universal press. People took their politics 
from the stump. They were trained in the great 
object-lessons of public life. The humble farmer 
knew all about the Missouri Compromise and the 
Nebraska bill. What they had learned was 
thorough. Every man was a politician. 

Ben Hill opened the discussion. He had the 
advantage of being a n,ew and untried man, while 
Toombs and Stephens had spread their records 



lie ROBERT TOOMBS. 

upon the pages of liuiidrecls of speeches. In those 
days of compromises and new departures, it was 
easy for a quick, briglit fellow to make capital 
out of the appai'ent inconsistencies of public men. 
Hill was a master of repartee. He pictured 
Toombs' cliau2:e from AVhi<j: to Democrat. He 
made a daring onslaught upon Toombs. Hill's 
bump of reverence was not large, and the v^ixj he 
handled this great statesman was a surpiise. He 
did not hesitate to call him " Bobuel," and to try 
to convict him out of his own mouth of error. 

Toombs sat back with his fine features lit with 
scorn. His facial expression was a rare part of 
his strength. He seemed to repel with his look 
the impudence of this fearless young statesman. 
Hill sa\v the effect of his own audacity, and " plied 
his blows like wintry rain." A keen observer of 
this dramatic by-play declares that the pose of 
these two men reminded him of Landseer's picture 
of " Dignity and Impudence." ^ 

Hill declared that Toombs had been in Con- 
gress, " sleeping over our rights." Toombs retorted, 
" I have been protecting your rights and your 
children's rights in spite of yourselves." 

Hill charged that Toombs had tried to dodge 
the issues of this campaign. Toombs, when he 
answered tliis pai't, cried out to the people im- 
petuously : " Did I dodge the question, Avlien in 
the presence of two thousand people, in the City 



" ON THE STUMP" IN GEORGIA. 147 

of Augusta, and as I was about to travel iu foreign 
lands, I denounced tlie secret midnio-lit or2:aniza- 
tion wliich was being fastened upon tlie free- 
men of the Soutli ? An organization wliose cliief 
measure was to prescribe a religious test iu tliis 
land of liberty, and raise up a barrier to tlie en- 
trance of the sons of the Old AVorld, whose gallant 
sii'es aided us in achieving our independence ? 

" Did I dodge, when, just before putting my 
foot on shipboard, I wrote a letter to my beloved 
Soutli, warning them against this insidious organi- 
zation creeping into their midst, piloted by dark 
lanterns to midnight lodges 'I Did I dodge, when, 
hearing, as I traveled, that this deadly order had 
taken hold and fastened its fangs in my State, I 
suspended my travels and took the first ship that 
bore me back to my native shores, and, raised my 
cry against these revolutionary measures ? 

"Did I dodge, when, as soon as landing in 
Georgia, I traveled all night and spoke all next 
day against these blighting measures ? If this be 
called dodo-ins:, I admit that I dodij;ed, and the 
gentleman can make the most of it." 

Mr. Hill declared that the Kansas-ITebraska bill 
embodied the principles of " squatter sovereignty" 
and alien suffrage. The bill was not identical with 
the Utah and New ^lexico bill, as Toombs and 
Stephens had alleged. The restrictive provisions 
of the Utah bill ^vould prohibit this Territorial 



148 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Legislature fi'om excluding slavery. It could not 
do that until it became a State, ^vhile tlie Kansas 
bill allowed a majority of the actual residents to 
determine wLetlier slavery should or should not 
exist, even prior to its admission as a State. lie 
denounced the Kansas bill as a cheat, a swindle, 
and a surrender of our dearest rights. As to the 
National Convention, Mr. Hill declared that the 
South may have framed the platform, but the 
North secured the candidate. Mr. Hill, relative to 
territorial questions, recognized the right of native 
born and naturalized citizens of the United States, 
permanently residing in any Territory, to frame a 
constitution and laws and to regulate their social 
and domestic affairs in their own "way. The 
American party proposed to extend the term re- 
quired for naturalization and to bar the foreigners 
from holding office. Mr, Hill had strong sympa- 
thizers in the extreme Southern Rights' men, who 
were on hand in abundance. 

Mr. Toombs replied with great dignity and 
warmth. He said that the Nebraska bill was a 
reiteration of the true intent of the compromise 
measures of 1850 ; that whoever opposed the Kan- 
sas bill was opposed to the South. It Avas a touch- 
stone for fixing party affiliations. It only carried 
out the Georgia platform protesting against Con- 
gressional prohibition of slavery in the Territories. 
He paid high tribute to Douglas as a patriot 



" OA^ THE STUMP" ZA" GEORGIA. 14^ 

and friend to the Soutli. " AVlioever condemned 
Douo'las needed wateliino^ liimself." Mr. Toombs 
charged that the representatives of the Know-noth- 
ing party had voted for the Kansas-Xebraska bill, 
and now claimed ignorance of its provisions. He 
denied that either he or Mr. Stephens had declared 
that the Kansas bill was identical with the Utah 
bill. Mr. Hill insisted that they had said so. Af- 
firmance and denial became heated, and talk of 
holding each other " personally responsible " was 
indulged in, but pretty soon the debate ^vent back 
into the political grooves. Mr. Toombs denied 
that the bill was a " Pandora's box of evil," or that 
its passage was violative of the good faith- of the 
South. This part of his argument, of course, was 
directed to meet Northern criticism. " The Korth," 
Mr. Tooml)s said, " had tried, by the Wilmot Pro- 
viso, to legislate the South out of the right of equal 
enjoyment of the Territories. The South had en- 
deavored to take the question of these rights out 
of Cono-ress, to establish the doctrine of non-inter- 
vention." This doctrine triumphed in 1850 and, 
despite the assertion of his opponent, ^vas reaffirmed 
in the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This Act of 1854 
was the great measure of justice and equality to the 
South. 

Mr. Toombs ridiculed the assertion of Millard 
Fillmore that the repeal of the Missomi Compro- 
mise was a violation of a sacred compact. "Fill- 



150 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

more," said Mr. Toombs, "is an amiable, clever 
sort of fellow, not to be trusted upon tlie great 
questions now before tlie country. He Lad with- 
held action upon the compromise measures of 
1850 until his attorney-general told him that he 
must sign them." 

Someone reminded Toombs that he had sup- 
ported Fillmore for vice president in 1848. He 
replied, " Yes, and I said then, that if Fillmore 
was at the head of the ticket, I would not support 
it." Several persons in the audience declared that 
they had heard him say it. " I am glad to know," 
said he, " that, since my opponents address you 
people as if you had no sense, you, at least, have 
shown that you have memories." 

Turniuo;; to the crowd who had cheered the 
opposition speaker, Mr. Toombs said : " For those 
of you who have yelled so long and lustily, when 
your dearest rights were assailed, I can but feel 
the profound est commiseration. Should you con- 
tinue in your wild strife against the experience of 
the past, I look to a kind Providence and to wise 
men to protect you from yourselves." 

In regard to aliens in America, Mr. Toombs 
said : " I go for giving them all — the oppressed of 
all nations — a place of refuge, and say even to the 
paupers and criminals ; ' We will forgive 3'ou for 
the past and try you for the future.' You may 
start in your railroad and go to Memphis, and then, 



" 02i THE STUMP" IN OEOROIA. 151 

follow the setting sun day by day, and week by 
week, until you find liiui setting in tlie Pacific 
Ocean, and all tlie time you are passing over fertile 
lauds wkere industry and thrift may meet appro- 
priate rewards, and the blessings of liberty and 
peace find a resting-place in the bosom of free- 
dom." 

Mr. Hill said that Toombs was a turncoat. He 
had l^een a Whig, and now he aljused the Whigs. 
Mr. Toombs told the people that he came not to 
abuse the Democrats or Whigs, but mth the 
weapon of truth and the shield of the Constitution 
to aid in preserving the Union and maintaining the 
rights of the South. He did not appear before 
the people to carry majorities, but to promote their 
constitutional rights. 

Mr. Tooml)s was charged with lieing a disunion- 
ist. He said he stood upon tlie Georgia platform 
of 1850, and leaning upon that faitliful support, 
" I will say, that should Fremont l>e elected, I will 
not stand and wait for fire, but will call upon my 
countrymen to take to that to which they will be 
driven — the sword. If that be disunion, I am a 
disunionist. If that be treason, make the most of 
it. You see the traitor before you." 

Opinion as to the result of the debate at Wash- 
ington was divided. Good judges thought that 
Mr. Hill relied too much on the ad captandum 
argument, and did not meet the points of Mr. 



152 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Toombs ; but tliere are men living in Washington 
who heard the great contest and who delight to 
tell how the young Avarrior from Troup charged 
right into the enemy's camp, and rode away with 
the laurels of the day. 

Buchanan was elected President in November. 
He carried nineteen States, Georgia among them. 
Buchanan and Breckenridge received 174 electoral 
votes and 1,838,169 popular votes. 

Fremont carried eleven States and 114 electoral 
votes, receiving 1,341,264 popular votes. Fillmore 
carried Maiyland with 8 electoral votes. His vote 
through the country amounted to 874,534. 

Mr. Toombs, while a member of Congress, be- 
came possessed of a large tract of land in Texas. 
It was known as the Peter's Colony Grant, which 
had never been settled. The lands, he was in- 
formed by a competent surveyor, were valuable^ 
and free to settlers. They comprised about 90,000 
acres in Northern Texas, on the clear fork of the 
Trinity, in the neighborhood of Dallas and Fort 
Worth. Mr. Toombs had a clear head and keen 
perception for business. His temperament was 
restless and fiery. His life had been spent at the 
bar and in the forum. His gifts of oratory were 
remarkable. It was a strange combination which 
added shrewd business sense, but he had it in an 
eminent degree. He was a princely liver, but a 
careful financier. He saw that this part of Texas 



" ox THE STUMP" IN GEORGIA. 153 

must some clay bloom into an empire, and fifty 
years ago he gave $30,000 for this tract of land. 
As Texas commenced to fill up the s(piatters oc- 
cupied some of the most valuable parts of the 
country and refused to be removed. These desper- 
ate fellows declared that they did not believe there 
was any such man as Toombs, the reputed owner 
of the land ; they had never seen him, and certainly 
they would not consent to be dispossessed of their 
holdings. 

It was in 1857 that Senator Toombs, accom- 
panied by a few of his friends, decided to make a 
trip to Texas and view his large landed posses- 
sions. For hundreds of miles he traveled on horse- 
back over the plains of Texas, sleeping at night 
in a buifalo robe. He was warned by his agents 
that he had a very desperate set of men to deal 
with. But Toombs was pretty determined him- 
self. He summoned the squatters to a parley at 
Fort AYorth, then a mere spot in the wilderness. 
The men came in squads, mounted on their mus- 
tangs, and bearing over their saddles long squiiTel 
rifles. They were ready for a shrewd bargain or 
a sharp vendetta. Senator Toombs and his small 
coterie were armed ; and standing against a tree, 
the landlord confronted his tenants or trespassers, 
he hardly knew Avhich. He spoke firmly and 
pointedly, and pretty soon convinced the settlers 
that they were dealing with no ordinary man. He 



1 5 4 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

said lie was ^villing to allow each squatter a cer- 
tain sum for betterments, if tliey would move off 
his land, or, if tliey preferred to stay, lie would 
sell tlie tract to each man at wild-land prices ; but, 
failing in this, they must move away, as he had 
the power to Y'^ii them out, and would certainly 
use it. There was a good deal of murmuring and 
caucussing among the men, but they concluded 
that there was a man named Toombs, and that he 
meant what he said. The matter was settled in a 
business way, and Senator Toombs rode back over 
the prairies, richer by a hundred thousand dollars. 
These lands were innnensely valuable during the 
latter part of his life. They formed the bulk of 
his fortune when the war closed ; and during his 
stay in Paris, an exile from his country, in 1866, 
he used to say that he consumed, in his personal 
expenses, an acre of dirt a day. The land was 
then worth about five dollars an acre. 

It was while he was returning home from his 
Texas trip that the postniaii met him on the 
23lains and delivered a letter from Georgia. This 
was in July, 1857. The letter announced that 
the Democratic State Convention in Georgia had 
adjourned, after nominating for Governor Joseph 
E. Brown. Senator Toombs read the letter and, 
looking up in a dazed way, asked, " And who in 
the devil is Joe Brown ? " 



CHAPTEK XIV. 

THE CAMPAIGlSr OF 1856. 

There was a good deal of significance in tlie 
inquiry. There Avas a hot campaign ahead. The 
opposition party, made up of Know-nothings and 
old-line Whigs, had nominated Benjamin H. Hill 
for Governor. Senator Toombs knew that it 
would require a strong man to beat him. Besides 
the Governor, a legislature was to he chosen 
which was to elect a successor to Senator Toombs 
in the Senate. He was personally interested in 
seeing that the Democratic party, Avith which he 
had been in full accord since the passage of the 
Kansas-Nebraska l)ill, liad a strong leader in the 
State. All the Avay home lie Avas puzzling in his 
brain about " Joe BroAvn." 

About the time that he returned, he Avas in- 
formed that Hill and BroAvn had met at Glen 
Spring, near Athens. A large croAA^d had at- 
tended the opening discussion. HoAA^ell Cobb 
Avrote to Senator Toombs that he had better take 
charge of the campaign himself, as he doubted 
the ability of Judge Brown to handle "Hill of 
Troup." 

155 



156 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Josepli E. Brown liacl come up from tlie people. 
He was a native of Pickens, S. C, of old Scotcli- 
Irisli stock that had produced Calhoun and 
Andrew Jackson. The late Henry W. Grady, in 
a bright fancy sketch, once declared that the 
ancestors of Joseph E. Bro^vn lived in Ireland, 
and that " For seven generations, the ancestors of 
Joe Brown have been restless, aggressive rebels — 
for a longer time the Toombses have been daunt- 
less and intolerant followers of the King. At 
the siege of Londonderry, Margaret and James 
Brown were Avithin the walls, starving and fight- 
ing for William and INIary ; and I have no doubt 
there were hard-riding Toombses outside the walls, 
charging in the name of the peevish and unhappy 
James. Certain it is that forty years before, the 
direct ancestors of Robert Toombs, in their estate, 
were hidino- the 2:ood Kinsj Charles in the oak at 
Boscobel, where, I have no doubt, the father and 
uncle of the Londonderry Brown, with cropped hair 
and severe mien, were proguing about the place 
Avith their pikes, searching every bush in the 
name of Cromwell and the psalm-singers. From 
these initial points sprang the two strains of 
blood — the one affluent, impetuous, prodigal, the 
other slow, resolute, forceful. From these ances- 
tors came the two men — the one superb, rnddy, 
fashioned with incomparable grace and fullness — 
the other pale, thoughtful, angular, stripped down 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1856. 157 

to brain and sinew. From these opposing theories 
came the two types : tlie one patrician, imperious, 
swift in action, and brooking no stay ; the other 
democratic, sagacious, jeah)us of rights, and sub- 
mitting to no opposition. The one for the king, 
the other for the people." 

Youno; Joe Brown had tauojht school, studied 
law, finally completing his course at Yale College. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1845. In 1849 he 
was elected as a Democrat to the State Senate by 
Cherokee County. In 1851 he had been a South- 
ern Eights' man, votin'g foi- McDonald against 
Cobb, the Union candidate for Governor. In 
1852 he Avas Democratic elector for Pierce. In 
1855 he was elected by the people judge of the 
Blue Ridge Cu'cuit. He A\'as very strong in 
North GeorjT^ia. The convention which selected 
him as the candidate for Governor met in Mill- 
edgeville, June 24, 1857. The Democrats had 
no lack of eminent men. There were candidates 
enough. James Gardner, the brilliant and in- 
cisive editor of the Augusta Constitutionalist, led 
the ballot, but Brown was finally brought in as a 
compromis(! man. His nomination was a surprise. 

AVhen Senator Toombs met the young nominee, 
by appointment, to talk over the campaign, he 
found that he was full of good sense and sagacity. 
He joined him in his canvass, lending his own 
name and prestige to the Democratic meetings. 



158 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

lint lie found luiicli slirewdiiess and homely wis- 
dom about Josepli E. Bro^vn, and lie became con- 
vinced that lie was able to make his way to the 
favor of the people mthout outside aid. The 
Democratic nominee proved his ability to stand 
before the luminous oratory of Ben Hill himself. 
Brown had courage, clearness, and tact, with grow- 
ing ability and confidence. He soon develoj^ed 
the full strength of the Democratic party, which, 
in Georgia, was overwhelming. Joseph E. Brown 
was elected Governor, and the last vestige of the 
American party went down in 1857. The legis- 
lature was overwhelmingly Democratic. 

On the 6th of November, 1857, Mr. Toombs 
wrote from Milledgeville to his wife, pending the 
election of United States Senator : 

I got here AVediiesda}' and found the usual turmoil 
and excitement. Governor McDonald is here and has 
been trying hard to beat me, but I find very unexpected 
and gratifying unanimity in my favor. The party met 
this evening and nominated me by acclamation, with but 
two or three dissenting votes, and they speak of bringing 
on the election to-morrow. I am very anxious to see you, 
and am tired of wandering about in excited crowds ; but I 
suppose after to-morrow I will have peace, so far as I am 
concerned, for the next six years. I think I shall be en- 
titled to exemption from the actual duties of future cam- 
paigns to stay at home with you. 

He was reelected to the United States Senate 
for the term beginning March 4, 1857, 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1856. 159 

AVlieu President Bucliauaii was inaugiu'ated, lie 
aniioimced that a case was pending in tlie Supreme 
Court upon tlie occupation of tlie Territories. By 
this decision he wouhl aljide. The day after the 
inauixuratioii the decision was announced. It was 
the celebrated Dred Scott case. It fell like a 
bouib into the autislavery camp. The great cpies- 
tion involved -was whether it was competent for 
Congress, du'ectly or indirectly, to exclude slavery 
from the Territories of the United States. The 
Supreme Court decided that it was not. Six 
judges out of eight made this decision. The 
opinion was delivered by Chief Justice Roger B. 
Taney. 

This decision added to the fury of the storm. 
It was announced that the Chief Justice had an- 
nounced the doctrine that " nei^'roes had no rio'hts 
that a Avhite man Avas Ijoimd to respect " ; a senti- 
ment so atrocious that this official repelled it with 
indignation. Efforts were made to bury the Chief 
Justice in obloquy. 

The struggle over the admission of Kansas into 
the Union was prolonged in Congress. But the 
situation in Kansas became warmer every year. 
The Eastern immigrant societies were met by in- 
I'oads of Missouri and Southern settlers. A state 
of civil war virtually obtained in 1856-57, and 
throughout Buchanan's administration there was 
a sharp sku^mish of new settlers and a sharp 



IGO ROBERT TOOMBS. 

maneuver of parties for position. Tlie Georgia 
State Democratic Convention of 1857 demanded 
the removal of Kobert J. AValker, wlio liad been 
appointed Governor of Kansas. He was a Southern 
man, but was regarded as favoiing the antislavery 
party in its efforts to organize the Territory. The 
truth ^vas, as Senator Toombs had clearly foreseen 
and expressed in his speech in the Senate in 1856, 
Kansas was destined to be a free State, and amid 
the violence of the agitation, confined to no one 
side, was marching steadily toward this destiny. 
The administration favored the admission of Kansas 
Avith the Lecompton Constitution, which was 
decidedly favorable to the proslavery men. Sen- 
ator Douglas opposed this plan. He had become 
committed to the policy of squatter sovereignty 
duj'ing the debate on the Kansas-Nebraska bill in 
1854. He contended that the settlers of a Terri 
tory could determine the character of their institu 
tions, a position which the Buchanan party de 
nounced as inconsistent with Democratic principles 
Mr. Douglas indorsed the Dred Scott decision 
but maintained his position on popular sovereignty, 
He became at once unpopular with the rank and 
file of the Southern Democracy, with whom he 
had lonof been a favorite. He was also estran2:ed 
from the administration, and it was evident that 
he Avould have no easy matter to be reelected 
United States Senator. This election came off in 



TEE CAMPAIOX OF 1856. * 161 

the fall of 1858, It was clear to him that, to 
maintain his prominence in politics, he nnist cany 
Illinois. Unless he could save his own State his 
chance for President was gone. So he went into 
this memorable canvass with his own party divided 
and a determined opponent in the person of Abra- 
ham Lincoln. The young Republican party in 
Illinois had been o-atherins: strenirth with each 
new phase of the slavery question. 

The joint debate between Douglas and Lincoln 
was memorable. As a dexterous debater, Douglas 
luid no equal in th-e Union. He was strong on the 
stum]:) and incomparable in a popular assembly. 
Without grace or imagination, he was yet aplausi- 
l)le, versatile man, quick and ingenious, resolute 
and ready, with a rare faculty for convincing men. 
He was small and sinewy, with smooth face, bright 
eye, and broad brow, and his neighbors called him 
the "Little Giant.'" He could be specious, even 
fallacious; he employed an ad captandum kind of 
oratory, which was taking with a crowd and con- 
fusing to an adversaiy. The man who met hun 
in these debates was a tall, impressive personage, 
rough, original, but direct and thoroughly sincere. 
In many points he was the opposite of Dcniglas. 

He ^vas rather an ill-ordered growth of the early 
West, a man who had toiled and suffered from his 
youth up. He was full of sharp corners and rough 
edges, and his nature was a strange mixture of pa- 



162 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

tience and melancholy. As Mr. Stephens said, he 
regarded slavery " in the light of a religious mysti- 
cism/' and believed that his mission to beat it down 
was God-ordained. And }'et he was a statesman, 
a public man of breadth and prominence, a speaker 
of force and persuasion. He had the robust cour- 
age of a pioneer and the high purpose of a re- 
former. It was in this debate that Mr. Lincoln, at 
Freeport, 111., asked Mr. Douglas that memorable 
question, on the stump : " Can the people of a Ter- 
ritory, in any lawful w\ay, exclude slavery from 
their limits, prior to the formation of a State con- 
stitution?" Mr. Douglas promptly answered, 
"Yes." This was his doctrine of popular sov- 
ereignty. But the answer cost him the Democratic 
nomination to the Presidency. The theory that a 
mass of settlers, squatting in a Territory, could fix 
and determine the character of the Territory's 
domestic institutions, was repugnant to a large por- 
tion of the Southern peojde. They claimed that un- 
der the Dred Scott decision, slavery already existed 
in the Territories, and must be protected by the 
Constitution; and that it was not competent for 
the people to determine for themselves the ques- 
tion of slavery or no slavery, until they formed a 
constitution for admission into the Union as a 
State. 

The election in Illinois, in the fall of 1858, gave 
Stephen A. Douglas a majority of eight in the 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1856. 163 

General Assembly over Abraham Lincoln, and 
Donsrlas was reelected for tlie new term. In this 
contest he had been opposed by the Bnchanan 
Democrats, who cast over 8000 votes in Illinois. 

In the Senate, the debate on popular sovereignty 
was renewed. This time Jefferson Davis, a sena- 
tor from Mississippi, attacked this position as in- 
compatible with the Constitution and the laws. 
Mr. Davis was a skillful debater. His mind was 
singularly graceful and refined. He was eloquent, 
logical, and courageous. His career as soldier and 
statesman, as War Minister under Pierce, and as 
senator for Mississippi, made him a prominent 
figure. He was cultured, classical, and well 
rounded, equipped by leisure and long study 
for the career before him. He had vancpiished 
Sergeant S. Prentiss in public discussion over the 
national bank, and contested, ineli by inch, the 
domination of Henry S. Foote in Mississippi. His 
career in the Mexican war had been a notable one. 
Allied to Zachary Taylor by marriage, a West 
Pointer by training, a Southern planter by occupa- 
tion, he was a typical defender of slavery as it ex- 
isted. Davis was as slender and frail as Dou2:las 
was compact and sinewy. Like Lincoln, his mind 
grasped great principles, while Douglas was fighting 
for points and expedients. 

Douglas declared that the territorial settler 
could determine whether slavery should exist, by 



1G4 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

liis influence in providing or withliolding police 
power ; althougli be denied tlie constitutional right 
to legislate slavery out of tlie Territories, yet he 
believed the " popular sovereign " could, by means 
of " unfriendly legislation," bar out the Southern 
settler with his slaves. It was not difficult for Mr. 
Davis to impale him upon this plea. 

Senator Douglas had saved his seat in the Sen- 
ate, but his position in the Democratic party was 
weakened. The Lecompton Constitution passed 
the Senate in spite of Douglas's steady opposition. 

Senator Toomljs took no part in the subtleties 
of the Dou2:las-Da^ds debate. He listened to tlie 
refinements of that discussion with decided convic- 
tions of his own, \mt Avith clear appreciation of the 
fact that every point scored against Douglas was 
cleaving the Democratic party in twain. Mr. 
Tooml)S favored the adoption of the Lecompton 
Constitution, but when it was rejected by the 
House, he promptly accepted the English compro- 
mise, to refer the matter back to the people. Mr. 
Toombs had always been partial to Douglas. In 
the campaign of 1856 he declared, in Georgia, that 
" the man Avho condemned Senator Douglas needed 
Avatchiui^ himself." He viewed with some pain 
the Douglas departure over popular sovereignty ; 
indeed he once declared that had he not been 
called away from the Senate for quite a time in 
1856, Mr. Douglas would never have gone off 



TEE CAMPAI02T OF 1856. 165 

on tliis taugrent. AVlien asked if Doiipjlas were 
really a great man, Senator Toc^nbs, in 1860, an- 
swered wdtli cliaracteristic heartiness and exagger- 
ation, " There has been bnt one greater, and he, 
the Apostle Paul." 

It was very evident that the people of the South 
would demand new guarantees for the protection 
of slavery against the dogma of popular sover- 
eignty. The platform of the Cincinnati convention, 
upon which Buchanan had been elected, must be 
recast. The platform had declared that immigi^ants 
to any part of the public domain were to settle the 
question of slavery for themselves. The new 
planlc, which President Buclianan framed, was that 
the government of a Territory was provisional and 
temporary, and (hiring its existence, all citizens of 
the United States had an equal right to settle with 
their property in i\w. Territory, witliout their 
rights, eitlier of person or property, being de- 
stroyed or im|>:tired l)y Congressional or Territo- 
rial le2:islation. TIu; two last words containcnl tlie 
gist of the resolution, which was aimed at Senator 
Douglas. However right as an abstract principle, 
Mr. Stephens declared that this was a departure 
from the doctrine of non-intervention. 

It was at this time that Senator Toombs made 
one of the most important speeches of his life. 
This was delivered in Augusta, Ga., September 8, 
1859, during an exciting campaign. Governor 



166 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Brown was a candidate for reelection, and a strong 
opposition party had developed in Georgia, repre- 
senting; the extreme Southern sentiment. 

Senator Toombs said that the opposition to the 
Kansas bill had continued because it was said to 
recognize the right of the people of a Territory, 
through the Territorial legislature, to establish or 
prohibit slavery. " When we condemned and ab- 
roo^ated Conojressioual intervention against us," 

CI CI <D ' 

said he, " that was a great point gained. Congress 
had actually excluded us from the Territories for 
thirty years. The people of a Territory had in no 
instance attempted such an iniquity. I considered 
it wise, prudent, and politic to settle the question 
against our common enemy, Congress, even if I left 
it unsettled as to our known friends, the people of 
the Territories. We could not settle the question 
of the power of the people over slavery while in a 
territorial condition, because Democrats differed 
on that point. We, therefore, declared in the Kan- 
sas bill that we left the people of the Territories 
perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic 
institutions in their own way, subject only to the 
Constitution of the United States. We decided to 
refer the question to the Supreme Court. It has 
gone there and been decided in our favor. The 
Southern friends of the measure repudiate the 
principle of squatter sovereignty. I stand its 
steady and uncompromising adversary. The doc- 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1856. 167 

trine of Douglas has not a leg to stand upon. Yet 
I do not belono; to tliose who denounce him. The 
organization of the Democratic party leaves this an 
open question, and Mr. Douglas is at full liberty to 
take either side he may choose, and if he maintains 
his ground of neither making nor accepting new 
tests of political soundness, I shall consider him a 
political friend, and will accept him as the repre- 
sentative of the i^arty, whatever it may tender him. 
I do not hesitate to tell you that, with his errors, I 
prefer him and would support him to-morrow 
against any opposition leader in America. 

" We are told," said Mr. Toombs, " that we must 
put a new plank in the platform of the Democratic 
party, and demand the affirmance of the duty of 
Congress to prohibit slavery in a Territory, where 
such Territoiy may fail to discharge this duty. I 
reply, I do not think it is wise to do the thing- 
proposed, and the inducement would not help the 
pi'oposition. While I have already asserted full 
and complete power of Congress to do this, I think, 
^\dth Mr. Madison, that it should be prudently and 
carefully exercised, and it ought not to l)e exer- 
cised until the occasion is imperative. There has 
been no occasion, from 1789 to this hour, calling 
for it, and I am more than willing that the Terri- 
torial settlers shall continue to govern themselves 
in their o^\ti way, so long as they respect the rights 
of all the people. I \\\\\ not insult them by sup- 



168 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

posing them capable of disregarding the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, or by assuming that they 
are incapable of honest self-government. 

" No ; I shall prescribe no new test of party 
fealty to Northern Democrats, those men who have 
hitherto stood with honor and fidelity upon their 
engagements. They have maintained the truth to 
their own hurt. Tliey have displayed a patriotism, 
a magnanimity rarely equaled in the world's his- 
tory, and I shall endeavor, in sunshine and in storm, 
with your approbation if I can get it, without it if 
I must, to stand by them with fidelity ecpial to 
their great deserts. If you will stand with me, we 
shall conquer faction in the North and South, and 
shall save the country from the curse of being ruled 
by the combination no^v calling itself the opposi- 
tion. We shall leave this country to our children 
as we found it — united, strong, prosperous and 
happy." 

This was a memorable speech, strong, sincere, 
and conservative, and had a marked effect. It was 
intended, not only to influence the canvass then 
pending, but to have an effect in controlling the 
National convention to be held six months later. It 
was copied far and wide, and the success of the 
State candidates whom Mr. Toombs supported 
showed that its statesmanlike utterances were 
adopted overwhelmingly in Georgia. 



CHAPTER XV. 

JOHX BROWX'S RAID. 

But events were inovino; fast aud f urionslv. The 
times needed no new Mirabean. The people 
were slowly welding a revolution, which must 
sweep statesmen from their feet and bear upon its 
fierce current the strong and weak alike. It has 
been asserted, and with truth, that disunion was 
precipitated by the people, not ])y the politicians — 
by tlie jSTorth as well as by the South. 

The raid of JohnBi'own of Kansas into Vii'ginia 
was not an event \vliicli would liave stirred the 
people in ordiuaiy times. It was the \\ ild foray 
of a fanatic, who tried to stir up a slave insurrec- 
tion. He was captured, tried, convicted, and 
hanged. There were demoralized followers and 
duped negroes with him, when he was overcome 
by Colonel Rol)ert E. Lee, witli a detachment of 
marines, at Harper's Ferry. This affair created a 
feverish excitement. The South did not know 
how far this movement extended, nor by what au- 
thority it had been started. The criminal was 
execrated at the South and intemperately defended 
at the North. Tlie man, who under normal con- 

169 



] 70 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

ditions of society would liave been sent to the 
insane asylum, was sentenced speedily to the gal- 
lows and mourned as a martyr by many at the 
North. Bells were tolled in his honor. Following 
this remarkable episode, several free States passed 
strong laws against the detention of fugitive slaves, 
and the Northern press and pulpit teemed with 
new lessons and fresh morals. John Brown's body, 
in the language of the sentimental dirge, "lay 
raoldering in his grave"; but the spirit of the 
Kansas boomer actually pervaded the land. 

What the Dred Scott decision had wrouo'ht at 
the North, the Ossawatomie raid awoke at the 
South. The main features of Buchanan's adminis- 
tration to hasten the " irrepressible conflict " were 
the well-weio-hed words of the Chief Justice and 
the wild invasion of a border ruffian. Strange 
paradox, but such were the influences at work 
in those disordered times. Men lost their moor- 
ings, and political parties abandoned settled poli- 
cies. Events cro\vded -with remorseless impact 
upon certain civil strife. 

Under this new condition of things Mr. Toombs 
made his great " door-sill " speech in the United 
States Senate, on the 24th of January, 1860. It 
was upon the resolution offered by Senator Doug- 
las calling for a measure of protection of each 
State and Territory against invasion by the au- 
thorities and inhabitants of every other State and 



JOim BROWN'S RAID. IVI 

Territory. Senator Toombs declared that tlie 
resolution opened up a ne^Y page in the history 
of our country. It was a step in the right direc- 
tion. He feared that the disease lay too deep 
for the remedy. Heretofore the people of the 
United States could grapple and surmount all 
difficulties, foreign and domestic. A spirit of 
nationality, a common interest, a common dan- 
ger, carried the country through revolutions. 
Now all this has changed. The feeling of loy- 
alty and common destiny is rapidly passing away. 
Hostility to the compact of the Union, to the tie 
which binds us together, finds utterance in the 
tonffues of millions of our countrymen, animates 
their bosoms, and leads to the habitual disregard 
of the plainest duties and obligations. Large 
bodies of men now feel and know that party 
success involves danger; that the result may 
bring us face to face with revolution. 

" The fundamental principles of our Union are 
assailed, invaded, and threatened with destruction ; 
our ancient rio-hts and liberties are in dan2:er ; the 
peace and tranquillity of our homes have been in- 
vaded by lawless violence, and their further inva- 
sion is imminent ; the instinct of self-preservation 
arms society to their defense." 

Mr. Toombs contended that this was no new 
principle introduced into our Constitution, It 
was inserted in the ordinance of 1787. The New 



172 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

England Confederation adopted it in 1643. Tlie 
Supreme Judicial tribunal of Prussia affirmed it as 
the public law of Europe as late as 1855. It was 
acknowledged to be a sound principle of public 
law in the days of Pericles, and its violation by 
one of the States of Greece was the chief canse of 
the Peloponnesian War, which devastated Greece 
for t\vent}'^-one years. The Megareans had given 
refuge to the revolted slaves of Athens." 

" I say," he continued, " the bargain is broken — 
broken by the States whose policy I have re- 
viewed ; broken by the Republican party, which 
did the work in their le2:islatures and elsewhere. 
Their hands are soiled with the blood of the com- 
pact. They cannot be permitted to minister at its 
altai". Their representatives on this floor mock at 
constitutional ol.)ligations ; Jeer at oaths. They 

have lost their shame with their virtue In 

the name of the people, I repeat, I demand the 
bond. In the name of every true and honest man 
at i\\Q North as well as the Soutli, I demand the 
resumption of your plighted faith. Upon these 
terms I have ever been willing to let the. Union 
stand, but upon no other. 

" Who is responsible for the murder, treason, and 
arson of John Brown ? I have never known of 
his acts being approved or palliated by any other 
person than a Republican. Thousands of them 
have done it and are now doins; it. In charirinij 



JOim BROWN'S RAID. 1V3 

tliis dark catalogue of crime against this organiza- 
tion, I Avoiild not be unjust. I have no doubt 
that thousands of persons belonging to that organ- 
ization throughout the North, loathe and despise 
John Brown's raid ; but it is equally ti'ue that 
there are other thousands in the same organization 
\v\\() do approve it. They tell us that they con- 
demn his acts, Ijut admire his heroism. I think 
the Republican party must l^e pressed for a hero. 
The 'Newgate Calendar' can furnish them with a 
dozen such saints. To 'die game' and not to 
' peach ' are sometimes useful, if not heroic, virtues 
in an accomplice. The thousands of blind liepub- 
licans who do (»[)enly approve the treason, murder, 
and nrsou of Jolin Brown, get no condemnation 
from their party for such acts. Tliey are its main 
defenders and propagandists all over the North, 
and, therefore, the paity is in moral complicity ^vith 
tlie criminal himself. No society can long exist 
in ])eace under these injuries, because we are in 
virtual civil war ; hence, I denounce their authors, 
the Kepublicau party, as enemies of the Constitu- 
tion and enemies of my country. 

" It is vain, in face of these injuries, to talk of 
peace, fraternity, and common country. There is 
no peace ; there is no fraternity ; there is no com- 
mon country ; all of us know it. 

" Sir, I have but little more to add— nothing 
f(jr myself. I feel that I have no need to pledge 



174 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

my poor services to this great cause, to my coun- 
try. My State lias spoken for lierself. Nine 
years ago a convention of lier })eople met and 
declared that lier connection wdtli tliis irovern- 
ment depended upon the faithful execution of the 
Fugitive-slave law. I was a member of that con- 
vention, and I stood then and stand now pledged to 
its action. I have faithfully labored to arrest 
these calamities; I will yet labor until this last 
contingency hajipens, faithfully, honestly, and to 
the best of my ability. When that time comes, 
freemen of Georgia, redeem your pledges ! I am 
ready to redeem mine. Your honor is involved, 
your faith is plighted. I know you feel a stain 
as a wound. Your peace, your social system, your 
friends are involved. Never permit .this Federal 
Government to pass into the traitors' hands of the 
black Republican party. It has already declared 
war against you and your institutions. It every 
day commits acts of war against you ; it has 
already compelled you to arm for your defense. 
Listen to no \-aiu babbling; to no treacherous 
jargon about ' overt acts ' ; they have already been 
committed. Defend yourselves ! The enemy is 
at your door; wait not to meet him at your 
hearthstone ; meet him at the door-sill, and drive 
him from the Temple of Lil^erty, or pull down its 
pillars and involve him in a common ruin." 



CHAPTER XVL 

THE CHAELESTON CONVENTIOISr. 

It was an unfortunate time for the meeting of 
tlie Democratic National Convention. The hope 
that the party ^vhicli liad so often brought har- 
mony from discord could unite upon the soil of 
an extreme Southern State was destined to be 
broken. The body met in Charleston on April 
23, 18G0. The place was worthy of the assem- 
blage. For the first time in the party history, 
its convention had met south of Cincinnati or Bal- 
timore. Redolent with the beauties of spring and 
the tint of historic interest, Charleston, Avith its 
memories of Moultrie, inspired feelings of patriotic 
pride. If it suggested the obstruction of Calhoun, 
it recalled the Revolutionary glor}- of Marion and 
Rutledo^e, and the bold challenge of Ilavne to 
Weljster, that if there be one State in the Union 
which could challenge comparison with any other 
for a uniform, ardent, and zealous devotion to the 
Union, that State was South Carolina. 

It was a memorable meeting. The convention 
was presided over by Caleb dishing of Massa- 
chusetts, the devoted friend of Daniel Webster, and 

175 



l'i'6 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Attorney-General under Franklin Pierce. In its 
ranks were Henry B. Payne of Ohio, Benjamin F. 
Butler of Massacliusetts, and James A. Bayard of 
Delaware. These men Avere towers of strength in 
the North, They Avere the men to whom liobert 
Toombs had appealed in the Senate, when he 
turned from his fiery imprecation and, lo^vering his 
great voice, declared, with tenderness and pride, 
" I have no word of invocation to those wdio stand 
to-day in the ranks of Northern Democracy, but to 
remember and emulate their past history. From 
the Ijeginning of this controvei-sy they have stood 
firmly by the Constitution. No body of men in 
the world's history ever exhibited higher or noljler 
devotion to principle under such adverse circum- 
stances Amid the opprobrious epithets, the 

gibes and jeers of the enemies of the Constitution ; 
worse than this, amid words of distrust and re- 
proach even from men of the South, these great- 
hearted patriots have marched steadily in the path 

of duty The union of all these elements 

may yet secure to oui- country peace and safety. 
But if this cannot be done, safety and peace are 
incompatible in the Union. Amid treachery and 
desertion at home, and injustice from without, 
amid disaster and defeat, they have risen superior 
to fortune, and stand to-day with their banners all 
tattered and soiled in the humble service of the 
Avhole countr}'. No matter ^vliat fortune may be- 



THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 177 

tide us in the future, wliile life lasts, I have a hand 
that ^vill succor and a heart ready to embrace the 
humblest soldier of this noble band." 

At that time there were thirty-three States in 
the Union. The committee on platform consisted 
of one from each State. The delegates from 
California and Oregon, voting with the South, 
o-ave them seventeen votes in committee. The 
resolutions were quickly framed, with the excep- 
tion of the one on slavery. Here ^vas the dead- 
lock. The majority plank declared that the right 
to settle in the Territories with slaves "was 
not to be destroyed nor impaired by Territorial 
legislation." The minority proposed once more 
to leave the question to the Supreme Comi. The 
compromise was not accepted. The two reports 
came before the convention, and, the Douglas men 
being in the majority on the floor, the minority, or 
squatter-sovereignty report, was adopted by a vote 
of 165 to 138. Here came the crisis. The dele- 
gates from Alabama, Mississi[)pi, Florida, Louisiana, 
Arkansas, Texas, and a part of Delaware, withdi'ew 
from the convention. Hon. William L. Yancey of 
Alabama led this movement. He was a man of 
courage and decision, with unrivaled powers of 
oratory. He had been a member of Congress, and 
his influence in the South was large. So far back 
as June 15, 1858, he had written a famous letter 
to James M. Slaughter that ''no national party 



178 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

can save us; uo sectional party can ever do it; 
but if we would do as oui' fathers did, organize 
committees of safety all over tlie cotton States — 
and it is only to tliem tliat Ave can liope for any 
effectual movement — we sliall lire the Southern 
heart, instruct the Southern mind, give courage to 
each other, and, by one concerted action, we can 
precipitate the cotton States into a revolution." 
This was called the " Scarlet Letter," and was 
widely scattered and read. 

The secedinci: deleffixtes oriranized a second as- 
semblage over ^vhich the Hon. James A. Bayard 
presided. The Douglas men were left in control 
of the first convention, but could not secure the 
two-thirds vote necessary for his nomina'tion. More 
than fifty ballots were taken, the full strength of 
the Illinois can^didate being 152. On the od 
of May the convention adjourned to meet in 
Baltimore on the 18th of June, when it was hoped 
a spirit of compromise might be inspired by the 
seriousness of tlie situation. 

On the night of the break in that body Mr. 
Yancey made a speech in Charleston, when in pro- 
phetic words he declared, ''Perhaps even now 
the pen of the historian is nibbed to inscribe the 
history of a new revolution." 

The seceding delegates called for a convention 
to be held in Richmond, Va., on the second Mon- 
day in June. 



THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 179 

When tlie seven States had withdrawn from 
the convention, the Georgia delegation was split 
up. A majority left the convention, a small 
minority remained. This action created great 
excitement in Georgia. The Democratic executive 
committee called a State convention to meet in 
Milledgeville on June 4. A committee of promi- 
nent citizens, headed by Hon. J. J. Gresham of 
Macon, addressed letters to public men asking 
their views in this alarming situation. Howell 
Cobb indorsed the seceders ; he ^vas opposed 
to Douglas. Alexander H. Stephens thought 
Georgia should appoint delegates to the Baltimore 
convention, witlidraw the demand for a new plank 
in the Cincinnati platform, abide by the doctrine 
of non-intervention, and nominate a good man for 
President. " If we must cpiarrel witli the North," 
said he, " let us base it on the aggressive acts of 
our enemies and not on the supposed shortcomings 
of our friends." 

Hon. Robert Toombs did not come South dur- 
ino; the Charleston convention. He watched from 
his post in the Senate the great struggle between 
the Democratic factions. On May 10, he wrote, 
in reply to the letter of the Macon committee : 

Perhaps the time may not have come for the attainment 
of the full measure of our constitutional rights ; it may not 
have been prudent on the part of the representatives of the 
seventeen States to have sanctioned and presented as much 



180 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

truth on the slavery issue as is contained in what is com- 
monly called the majority iilatform ; Vut when it was thus 
sanctioned, approved, and presented to the convention, it 
was well to stand by and defend it, especially against the 
platform of the minority. The seceding delegates did this 
with manly tirmuess, and I approve their action. 

Mr. Toombs advised, liowever, that the seceding 
dele2:ates ouo-ht to meet with the convention at 
Baltimore and endeavor to obtain such a satisfac- 
tory adjustment of difficulties as could be secured. 
" This course requires no sacrifice of principles." 
This plan had been proposed by the delegates from 
New York to the delegates from the Southern 
States. " The proposed Richmond convention, if 
it shall be found necessary to hold it," he said, 
" can be held after, as well as before the Baltimore 
convention, and I think ^vith clearer lights for its 
guidance." 

" It is sometimes wise," said Mr. Toombs, " to 
accept a part of our just rights, if we can have the 
residue unimpaired and uucompromised, but noth- 
ing can justify a voluntary surrender of principle, 
indispensable to the safety and honor of the State. 

" It is true we are surrounded with danger, but 
I do not concur in the opinion that the danger to 
the Union is even one of our greatest perils. The 
greatest danger, to-da}^, is that the Union will sur- 
vive the Constitution. The body of your enemies 
in the North, who hate the Constitution, and daily 



THE CItARLESTON CONYENTION: 181 

trample it under their feet, profess an ardent at- 
tacliinent to the Union, and I doubt not, feel such 
attachment for a Union unrestrained by a Consti- 
tution. Do not mistake your real danger ! The 
Union has more friends than you have, and will 
last, at least, as long as its continuance will be 
compatible with your safety." 

Prior to the reassembling of the Democratic 
convention, the resolutions introduced by the 
Hon. Jeiferson Davis, containing the Southern ex- 
position of principles, came up in the Senate. Mr. 
Toombs had opposed the policy of introducing 
those resolutions, but as they were then before the 
country, he said they should be met. He ridi- 
culed the idea of popular sovereignty. He de- 
clared that Congress should protect slavery in the 
Territories. The Federal Government, he claimed, 
did protect its citizens, native and naturalized, at 
home and abroad, eveiy where except on the soil 
of our own territory, acquired by common blood 
and treasure. 

This speech of Senator Toombs mai-ked an 
epoch in his career. It separated him entirely 
from Stephen A. Douglas, to whom he had been 
closely allied, in spite, as he said, of Douglas hav- 
ing wandered after strange gods. Douglas al> 
sented himself from the Senaie when Toombs 
spoke. For the first time in twenty years, Toombs 
and Stephens took divergent paths. They ^^ere 



182 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

called in Georgia the " Siamese twins." From the 
election of Harrison to the Democratic split in 
1860, they had been personal friends and firm 
political allies. Mr. Stephens was for Douglas 
and the Union ; Mr. Toombs feared lest " the 
Union survive the Constitution." 

The Democratic party in Georgia met on June 
4, and parted on the lines of the Charleston divi- 
sion. The Union element in Georgia ^vas led by 
Herschel V. Johnson, a man of power and influ- 
ence. He had been Governor of the State, was a 
man of learning, profound in thought and can- 
did in expression. His wife was a niece of Presi- 
dent Polk. His state papers were models of 
clear and classical expression. Governor John- 
son was, however, better fitted for the bench or the 
Cabinet than for a public leader. 

Both wings of the Georgia convention appointed 
delegates to the Baltimore convention. That body 
admitted the delegation which had seceded from 
the Charleston convention. As the seceding del- 
egates from the other States were rejected, the 
Georgia delegates refused to go in. Missouri was 
the only Southern State which was represented 
entirely in the body, composed of 190 delegates. 
Massachusetts withdrew and Caleb Cushing re- 
signed the chair. Stephen A. Douglas was nomi- 
nated for President of the United States. Gov- 
ernor Fitzpatrich of Alabama declined the vice 



THE CHARLESTON COIiVENTIOK 183 

presidency, and Herscliel V. Johnson of Georgia 
was chosen for vice president. The seceders im- 
mediately organized a national convention, Mr. 
Gushing presiding. It was composed of 210 dele- 
gates. The majority or anti-Douglas platform of 
the Gharleston convention was adopted. John 
G. Breckenridge of Kentucky was nominated for 
President, and Joseph G. Lane of Oregon for vice 
president. Mr. Breckenridge was at that time vice 
president of the United States, and Mr. Lane was 
a senator. Meanwhile, a Gonstitutional Union 
party had been formed in Georgia, and had elected 
delegates to a convention of that party in Balti- 
more. This body nominated for President and vice 
president, John Bell of Tennessee and Edward 
Everett of Massachusetts. Mr. Bell had been 
United States Senator at the time of the passage 
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, in 1854, and had been 
arraigned by Mr. Toombs for opposing the party 
policy. lie was one of the thirteen who voted 
aofainst it in the Senate. 

The contest in Georo-ia wa2:ed with much vio-or. 
Robert Toombs supported Breckenridge. He was 
a delegate to the Democratic State convention 
which put out a Breckenridge and Lane electoral 
ticket. He cut out the business of that conven- 
tion, and declared that the Gonstitution and equal- 
ity of the States was the only bond of everlasting 
union. Mr. Stephens headed the Douglas ticket. 



184 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Senator Dou2;las himself came to Georoia and 
spoke during tlie campaign. The Bell and Ever- 
ett ticket was championed by Benjamin H. Hill. 
The vote in Georgia was : Breckenridge, 51,893 ; 
Donglas, 11,580; Bell, 42,855. 

Of these three Georgians, so strikingly arrayed 
against each other in this critical campaign, Mr. 
Vincent, a gifted Texan, thus wrote with dramatic 
power: "Hill, Stephens, Toombs — rail eloquent, 
all imbued with the same loft}^ patriotism. They 
differed widely in their methods ; their opinions 
were irreconcilable, their policies often diametri- 
cally opposite. Hill ^^as (piick, powerful, but un- 
persistent ; Stephens, slow, forcible and compromis- 
ing; Toombs, instantaneous, overwhelming, and 
unyieldiug. Hill carried the crowd with a whirl- 
wind of eloquence ; Stephens first convinced, then 
moved them with accelerating force ; Toombs 
swept them with a hurricane of thought and mag- 
netic example. Hill's eloquence was in flights, 
always rising and finally sublime ; Stephens' was 
ari^umentative with an elei^ant smoothness, ofteu 
flowing in sweeping, majestic waves ; Toombs' was 
an engulfing stream of impetuous force, with the 
roar of thunder. Hill was receptive, elastic, and 
full of the future ; Stephens was philosophical, 
adaptable, and full of the past ; Toombs was 
inexhaustible, original, inflexible, and full of the 
now. It was Hill's special forte to close a cam- 



THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 185 

paign ; Stephens' to manage it ; Toombs' to orig- 
inate it. In politics as in war, lie sought, with the 
suddenness of an electric flash, to combat, van- 
quish, and slay. Hill's eloquence exceeded his 
judgment ; Stephens' judgment was superior to 
his oratorical power ; in Toombs these were equi- 
pollent. Hill considered expediency ; Stephens, 
policy ; Toombs, principle always ; Hill would per- 
haps flatter, Stephens temporize, Toombs neither 
— never. At times Hill would resort to the arts of 
the dialectician ; Stephens would quibble over the 
niceties of construction ; Toombs relied on the im- 
pregnability of his position,the depth of his thought, 
the vigor of his reasoning. Hill discussed with op- 
ponents ; Stephens debated with them ; Toombs 
ignored them. Hill refuted and vanquished his 
adversaries ; Stephens persuaded and led them ; 
Toombs magnetized them, and they followed him. 
Their enemies said that Hill was treacherous in 
politics ; Stephens selfishly ambitious ; and that 
Toombs loaned like a prince and collected like a 
Shylock. 

" In those days Georgia did not put pygmies on 
pedestals. Hill will be remembered by his ' Notes 
on the Situation '; Stephens by his'AYar between 
the States'; Toombs had no circumstantial su- 
periority. He is immortal, as the people are 
eternal." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

TOOMBS AS A LEGISLATOE. 

Georgia had taken a leadiner hand in the mo- 
mentous events. Alexander H. Stephens had 
been prominently mentioned for President ; so 
had Howell Cobb. When Senator Toombs had 
attacked the doctrine of Mr. Douglas, the follow- 
ers of the latter charged that Mr. Toombs had de- 
serted liis old ally, and was himself making a bid 
for the presidency. Especially was this the case, 
they urged, as Mr. Toombs had recommended 
the seceding delegates to go back to the Balti- 
more convention, and endeavor to effect an hon- 
orable adjustment. The Augusta Ohronide and 
Sentinel, a leading Union organ, took np the 
charge and asked : " "What of it ? Pie is cer- 
tainly as much entitled to it as any citizen in 
the repuljlic. AVere he elected, he would be such 
a President as the country needs, giving no coun- 
tenance to corruption or fraud, but, with a will of 
his own, setting aside all dictation and acting as 
President of all the people. We doubt if there 
is a man that could arouse such a furor in his be- 
half, North or South, as Robert Toombs." 

186 



TOOMBS AS A LEGISLATOR. 18*7 

Close friends of Mr. Toombs at tliat time be- 
lieved lie was not witlit>ut liis ambition to occupy 
the Executive chair. Never an office-seeker, he 
had gone easily to the front rank of national poli- 
tics and had won his honors in Georgia in a kingly 
way. He realized, however, that he was not po- 
litic enough to gain support from Northern 
States. His convictions were overmastering pas- 
sions ; his speech was fervid and fearless ; and his 
bold, imperturbable expression had placed him in 
a fierce white light, which barred him from the 
promotion of party conventions. While his ene- 
mies were accusing him of a desire to destroy the 
Union and embroil the sections, Robert Toombs 
was probably cherishing in his heart a vague hope 
that one day he might be called to the presidency 
of a common country. 

Senator Toombs was very active in attending to 
his public duties. He was interested in every 
species of legislation. His remarks upon the dif- 
ferent matters of national business exhibited ver- 
satility, study, and interest in everything that 
affected the public welfare. Those who believe 
him to have been a conspirator, using his high 
position to overthrow the government, have only 
to look over the debates in Congress to see how 
active and conscientious were his efforts to pro- 
mote every real interest of the Union. 

In the United States Senate, on July 31, 1854^ 



188 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Mr. Toombs gave an elaborate exposition of Lis 
views upon the policy of internal improvements. 
He said lie had maintained opposition to this sys- 
tem as a fundamental j)i'inciple. Since he entered 
public life, he had sustained President Polk's veto 
of the River and Harbor bill in 1847. He be- 
lieved that Congress had no constitutional power 
to begin or carry on a general system of internal 
improvements. He Avanted to know where this 
power of the Constitution could be found. Madi- 
son and Jefferson had opposed this system. 
Monroe, Jackson, and Clay had yielded to the 
popular pressure and sanctioned it. "Instead of 
leaving the taxes or the money in the pockets of 
the people," he said, " you have spent nine months 
in endeavoring to squander and arranging to have 
more to squander in the next Congress. I should 
like to use a polite term," said he, " for I am a 
good-natured man, but I think it is corruj)tion. 

"In this bill you offer me seventy thousand 
dollars for the Savannah river. Ships were sunk 
in that river for the common defense of the 
country during the Revolutionary War. You are 
bound to abate your nuisance at common law. 
You might offer me this Capitol full of gold, and 
I would scorn the gift just less than the giver. 
You ought to have removed these obstructions 
long ago. When we come and ask of you this 
act of justice, you tell me to go with you into 



TOOMBS AS A LEGISLATOR. 189 

yonr iuternal improvement bill and take pot-luck 
Avith you." 

Mr. Toombs claimed tliat the power given to 
Congress to regulate commerce, simply meant to 
prescribe tke rules by wliicli commerce could be 
carried on, and nothing else. "The people of 
Maryland," he said, " had never asked that the 
harbor of Baltimore should be cleaned at the ex- 
pense of the people of Georgia. They did not 
ask that other people should pay their burdens. 
They came here and asked the privilege of taxing 
their own commerce for their own beueiit, and we 
g]"anted it. I hold it to be a fundamental prin- 
ciple in all governments, and especially in all free 
governments, that you should not put burdens on 
the people whenever you can discriminate and 
put them on those who enjoy the benefits. You 
started with that principle with your post-office 
establishments. 

" Senators, is it just ? I tell you, as God 
lives, it is not just, and you ought not to do it. 
There is manhood in the people of the Mississippi 
Valley. Let them levy tonnage duties for their 
own rivers and ports and put up their ow^n light- 
houses, and charge the people who use them for 
the benefits conferred. Let the honest farmer 
who makes his hay, who gathers his cheese, who 
raises his meal in Vermont, be not taxed to in- 
crease your magnificent improvements of nature 



190 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

and your already gigantic wealtli. Senators, it is 
unjust." 

Durino^ tlie session of Con2:ress of 1856-57, 
Senator Toombs again arraigned tlie whole system 
of internal improvements. He carefully differ- 
entiated between building a lightliouse and clear- 
ing out a harbor by the Federal Government. He 
said in course of the debate: "Where lifrhthouses 
are necessary for the protection of your nav}^, I 
admit the power to make them ; but it must be 
where they are necessary, and not merely for the 
benefit and facilitation of commerce. Foreign and 
domestic commerce ought to be charged, as in 
England and France, for the benefit they receive. 
I would make the shipowners, the common car- 
riers of this country, who are constantly using the 
power of this government to make money out of 
the products of honest industry and agriculture, 
submit to this rule. 

" The power to found a navy is found in the 
only fountain of power in this country, the Con- 
stitution. The defense of one is the defense of 
all. The destruction of nationality is the destruc- 
tion of the life of all. 

"I say if you take away the property of one 
man and give it to a thousand, or if you take 
away the property of a million and give it to 
nineteen millions, you do not create national 
wealth by transferring it from the pockets of 



TOOMBS AS A LEGISLATOR. 191 

honest industry to otlier people's pockets. Tills 
is my principle. It is immovable. The more 
commerce there is on the Mississippi the more 
they are able and competent to pay the expenses 
of transporting it, and I only ask that they shall 
do it." 

Mr. Toombs sustained the veto of President 
Pierce of the Mississippi River bill. 

In July, 1856, he said that he had for eleven 
years maintained the vetoes of Mr, Polk. " I 
have perceived that this mischief is widespread, 
this corruption greater, this tendency to the 
destruction of the country is more dangerous. 
The tendency to place the whole government 
under the money power of the nation is greater 
and greater. The elanger may be all of my 
imagination ; but whether that be so, or whether 
I see in a bolder light the evil that will grow by 
letting this sluice from the public treasury and 
making it run by the will of the majority, I 
deem it so important that it may be worth an 
empire. AVe are called on, upon the idea of 
everybody helping everybody's bill, to vote for 
them all. There certainly can be no greater 
abandonment of public principle than is here 
presented." 

Senator Toombs, while a member of the Georgia 
Legislature, opposed the omnibus bill, granting 
State aid to railroads, and one of the first devices 



192 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

to fall under his criticism was a sclieme to build a 
road to liis own town. He was by nature pro- 
gressive. He cliampioned the cause of the State 
railroad of Georgia. In general terms he believed 
that the States and the people should carry out 
works of internal improvement. It is said that 
the first ofiace ever held by Mr. Toombs w^as that 
of commissioner of the town of Washington, Ga. 
The election hinged upon a question of public im- 
provement, the question being " ditch or no ditch " ; 
Toombs was elected commissioner, and the ditch 
was dug. 

He was nothing of a demagogue. He did not 
attempt to belittle the public service. He cham- 
pioned the provision for higher pay for the United 
States Judges, and for increasing the stipend of 
army ofiicers, although he denounced the system 
of double I'ations as vicious. He did not hesitate 
to hit an unnecessary expense in every shape. 
All overflowing pension grabs found in him a 
deadly enemy. In December, 1856, while speak- 
ing on the subject of claims, he said: "In 1828, 
\\'hen half a century had passed over the heads of 
the men wdio fought your battles, when their 
generation w^as gone, when Tories and jobbers 
could not be distinguished from the really 
meritorious, the agents came here and attemj^ted 
to intimidate public men." He alluded to pen- 
sion agents as men ^vho prowd about and make 



TOOMBS AS A LEGISLATOR. 193 

fortunes by peddling in tlie pretended patriotism 
and sufferiuos of tlieir fathers. 

" It is," said Le, " a poor pretext for an honor- 
able man to come and tell the government, ' My 
ancestor fonglit for Lis own and tbe public lib- 
erty ; lie did not choose to be a slave to a foreign 
despotism ; but with manliness, and honor, and 
patriotism, he fought during the war; now pay 
me for this. I want to be paid in hard dollars 
for the honor, and chivalry, and patriotism of my 
ancestor.' I tell you, Mr. President, it is not 
good money; it is bad money; it is dishonor- 
able to the memory of those who fought your 
battles." 

In February, 1857, the electoral vote for Pres- 
ident was counted by the two Houses of Congress. 
The vote of the State of Wisconsin (five ballots) 
had been cast on a day other than that fixed by the 
States for the meeting of the Electoral College. 
If counted, it gave Fremont 114 votes; if omitted, 
Fremont would have 109. 

In the debate which followed, Senator Toombs 
discussed very closely a point which has since 
been the subject of sharp contention. He said : 
" The duty of counting the vote for President de- 
volves on the Senate and House of Representatives. 
They must act in their separate capacities; but 
they alone can determine it, and not the President 
of the Senate and the tellers of the two Houses. 



194 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

It is a liigli privilege, a dangerous one to tlie 
liberties and Constitution of this country. The 
Senate and House must determine the votes to be 
counted, and the President of the Senate can only 
announce those to be votes wliicli are thus decided 
by competent authority, and any attempt of the 
presiding officer to declare what votes lie may 
deem to be legal, or to decide wliicli are tlie votes, 
no matter whether it affects the result or not, or 
even to say that tlie question shall not be decided, 
however higLly I respect the chair, I submit is 
not a power given to the presiding officer by the 
Constitution and tlie laws." 

In 1850 Senator Toombs found it necessary to 
oppose an appropriation for an experiment with 
the Atlantic cable. He Avas not prepared to say 
that the experiment would not be successful, but 
he boldly declared, despite the importance of the 
work and the high character of the men wlio were 
supporting it, that tliere was no power in the 
Federal Constitution for sucli an appropriation. 
Because the government establishes post roads, it 
could not be inferred that the government had the 
powder to aid in transaiitting intelligence to all 
quarters of the globe. He did not believe in go- 
ing beyond the constitutional guarantees. He 
declared of these questions, as he had in the de- 
bate upon the Kansas bill, that in hunting for 
power and authority he knew but one place to go 



TOOMBS AS A LEGISLATOR. 195 

— to tlie Constitutiou. When lie did not find it 
tliere, lie could not find it auvwliere. 

Senator Toombs favored the purchase of Cuba, 
because he considered it advantageous to the re- 
public. "I will accept Canada as readily, if it 
can be honestly and fairly done," he said. " I ^vill 
accept Central America and such part of Mexico 
as, in my judgment, would be advantageous to the 
i-epublic." 

The question of the slave population of Cuba 
should not come into this discussion, he declared. 
'' I will not trammel the great constitutional power 
of the Executive to deal with foreio:n nations, 
with our internal questions ; and I ^vill not manacle 
my countiy, I will n(^t handcuff the energies of 
this mighty republic, by tying up our foreign 
diplomacy with our internal dissensions. At least 
to the rest of the world, let us present ourselves 
as one people, one nation." lie spurned the idea 
that he wanted Cuba to strengthen the slave 
power in Congress. He said, " Some may think 
we go for it because by this means Ave shall have 
one more slave State in the Union. I know that 
the senator from New York (Mr. Seward) at the 
last session alluded to the comparative number of 
slaveholding and non-slaveholding States ; but I 
never considered that my rights lay there ; I never 
considered that I held my rights of property by 
the votes of senators. It is too feeble a tenure. 



196 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

If I did, I liave shown by my votes that I have 
not feared them. AVhenever an}^ State, Minnesota 
or Oregon, or any other, came, no matter from 
where, if she came on principles which were snffi- 
cient in my judgment to justify her admission into 
this great family of nations, I never refused her 
the right hand of fellow^ship. I did not inquire 
whether you had seventeen or eighteen free States. 
If you had hfty, it would not alter my vote. The 
idea of g-^ittinii: one slave State would have no effect 
on me. But Cul)a has fine ports, and with her 
acquisition, we can make first the Gulf of Mexico, 
and then the Carribean Sea, a 7nare cJausum. 
Probably younger men than you or I will live to 
see the day when no flag shall float there except 
by permission of the United States of America. 
That is my policy. I rose more with a view to 
declare my policy foi' the future ; that develop- 
ment, that progress throughout the tropics was 
the true, fixed, unalterable policy of the nation, 
no matter what may be the consequences with 
reference to European powers." 

Mr. Toombs believed that much bad legislation 
resultel from trustino; too much to committees. 
He rarely failed to (question such reports, and 
never voted unless he thoroughly understood the 
subject. He thought this w^hole machinery was a 
means of '^ transferring the legislation of the coun- 
try from those into whose hands the Constitution 



TOOMBS AS A LEGISLATOR. 197 

liad placed it to irresponsiljle parties." He said 
it was a common newspaper idea tliat Congress 
was wasting time in debating details. His opinion 
was tliat nine-tenths of the time the best thing to 
be done in public legislation was to do nothing. 
He thought Congress was breaking down the 
government by its own weight in " pensioning all 
the vagrants brought here. All that a man has 
to do is to make affidavit and get a pension." 

In 1859 he refused to vote to appropriate 
$500,000 for the improvement of Buffalo harbor, 
because he held he had no right to spend the 
money of the whole Union for a particular lo- 
cality; for this reason he voted to abolish the 
mint at Dahlonega, in his o^vn State. 

Mr. Toombs opposed the policy of buying the 
outstanding debt at a premium. He criticised 
Senator Simon Cameron for asking that the gov- 
ernment give employment to 50,000 laborers out 
of work. He said, " Sir, government cannot do it 
and never did do it. There never was a govern- 
ment in the world which did not ruin the people 
they attempted to benefit by such a course. Gov- 
ernments do not reojulate wao^es." 

Senator Toombs contended that the Postal De- 
partment stood on a different footing from the 
army and navy. Postal service, he thought, was 
no part of the national duty. " It is of no more 
importance to the people of the United States 



198 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

that this government should carry my letters than 
that it should carry my cotton." He claimed that 
he had some old-fashioned ideas, but they were 
innate. " I do not think it right, before God, for 
me to make another man pay my expenses." 

In discussing the financial report, he said, " You 
have as much time to appropriate money intelli- 
gently as you have to give it lavishly. AYhile 
there is a general cry for retrenchment, when any 
practical movement is made, the answer always is 
that this is not the right time or the right place. 
I am afraid we shall never find the right time, or 
the right place, until the popular revolution be- 
comes strono; enouo;h to send here men who will 
do the public business better than we have done 
it." 



CHAPTER XVIIL 

ELECTION OF LIXCOLX. 

In the election of November, 1860, Mr. Lincoln 
received 1,857,610 votes, and the combined opposi- 
tion 2,787,780 votes, tlie successful candidate being 
in a minority of nearly a million votes. The new 
House of Representatives was Democratic, and the 
Senate had not been won over to the antislavery 
party. But the trend of Northern politics was 
unmistakably toward the extinction of slavery. 
As Mr. Lincoln said in his letter to Mr. Stephens : 
" You think slavery is rio-ht and oug-ht to be ex- 
tended, while we think it is wrong and ought to 
be restricted. There, I suppose, is the rub." Mr. 
Buchanan's message to Congress was full of con- 
servative counsel, but the Northern pressure was 
too strong. His Cabinet was soon dissolved, 
and the places of Southern men were taken by 
Northern representatives, wliose influence was not 
assuring to Southern people. 

Just before his departure for Congress Mr. 
Toombs, in response to an invitation, wrote a con- 
servative letter to his constituents in Danbmg, 
AVilkes County, Ga. It bore date of December 

199 



200 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

13, 1860. Tlie General Assembly of Georgia liad 
unanimously passed a resolution calling for a State 
convention to meet on January 16, 1861. Mr. 
Toombs took tlie ground tkat separation, sooner or 
later, was inevitable. The time wlien the remedy 
was to be applied was the point of difference. He 
opposed delay longer than March 4, but declared 
that he would certainly yield that point "to 
earnest and honest men ^vho are with me in prin- 
ciple but are more hopeful of redress from the 
aggressors than I am. To go beyond March 4, 
we should require such preliminary measures to 
be taken as would, with reasonable certainty, lead 
to adequate redress, and in the meantime, we 
should take care that the delay gives no advan- 
tage to the adversary." Mr. Toombs declared 
that he believed the policy of Mr. Lincoln was to 
ultimately abolish slavery in the States, by driv- 
ing slavery out of the Territories, by abrogating 
Fugitive-slave laws, and by protecting those who 
stole slaves and incited insurrections. The only 
way to remedy these evils, in the Union, was by 
such constitutional amendments as can be neither 
resisted nor evaded. "If the Republican party 
votes for the amendments, we may postpone final 
action. This ^vill he putting x)lanks where they 
are good for something. A cartload of new planks 
in the party platform will not redress one wrong 
nor protect one right." 



ELECTION OF LINCOLN. 201 

As strong and unmistalvable as this letter seemed, 
the ,:rrreat body of the people of Georgia did not 
think it sufficiently aggressive. Secession now 
amounted to a furor. It was not the work of 
leaders, but the spirit which pervaded the ranks 
of the people, who clamored because events did 
not move fast enough. The "minute-men" de- 
clared Mr. Toombs' letter was a backdo^vn. They 
called him a traitor, and wanted to vote him a tin 
sword. 

Congress, npon reassembling, devoted itself to 
measures of compromise. The situation was one 
of the deepest gravity. In the House a committee 
of thirty-three was raised, and in the Senate a com- 
mittee of thirteen, to look into the situation. But 
tliere was no Henry Clay to intei-pose, with tact 
and Ijroad statesmanship, at the supreme moment. 

Twice before in our history, the " Great Pacifi- 
cator " had proven equal to a desperate emergency. 
Adjusting the tariff in 1832 when South Carolina 
threatened nullification, he had kept the peace be- 
tween Calhoun and Jackson. Proposing liis om- 
nibus bill ill 1850, he had silenced all calls for 
disunion by the territorial concession. E(pially 
lacking was the example of Webster to face the 
})rejudlces of the North and calm the apprehen- 
sions of the South. Perhaps it was because these 
men had postponed the conflict then tliat it reap- 
peared now with irrepressible power. 



202 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

The House Committee reported propositions to 
amend the Fugitive-slave laws, and accepted Mr. 
Tooml^s' demand that a law should be enacted by 
^vhich all offenses against slave propei'ty, by per- 
sons fleeing to other States, should be tried where 
the offense was committed. 

Mr. Toombs was a member of the committee of 
thirteen in the Senate. The five Southern mem- 
bers submitted the Crittenden Compromise, de- 
manding six amendments to the Constitution. 
These recognized slavery south of the old Missouri 
line, prohibited interference by Congress mth 
slavery in the District of Columbia, or with trans- 
portation of slaves from one State to another, and 
provided for the payment for fugitive slaves 
in cases where the marshal was prevented from 
arresting said fugitive. The sixth amendment 
guaranteed the permanence of these provisions. 

The House adopted the report of the committee 
of thirty-three. In the Senate a resolution was 
adopted declaring that the provisions of the Con- 
stitution w^ere already ample for the preservation 
of the Union ; that it needed to be obeyed rather 
than amended. This, upon a test vote of twenty- 
five to twenty-three, ^vas substituted for the Crit- 
tenden Compromise. Mr. Toombs and five other 
Democratic members refused to vote, as they ap- 
propriately declared that no measure could be of 
value to the South, unless it had the support of 



ELECTION OF LINCOLN. 203 

Republican senators from the North. They sat 
still and waited to see whether those senators of- 
fered any guarantees. The twenty-five votes 
showed that the Republicans were not in a con- 
ciliatory mood. This, in the opinion of Senator 
Toombs, was conclusive that the best interests of 
the South lay in immediate separation. 

Once convinced that this was the proper course, 
Senator Toombs bent all his powers to bring about 
that result. He saw that if the Southern States 
must secede, the quicker they did so the better. 
If the North cared to recall them, a dgorous policy 
would react more promptly upon the Republi- 
cans. He did not go into this movement with 
forebodins: or half-heartedness. There was no 
mawkish sentiment — no melancholy in his make- 
up. His convictions mastered him, and his 
energy moved him to redoubled effort. On the 
2 2d of December he sent his famous telegram to 
his "fellow-citizens of Georgia." He recited that 
his resolutions had been treated with derision 
and contempt by the Republican members of the 
committee of thirteen. The amendments proposed 
by Mr. Crittenden had " each and all of them been 
voted against unanimously by the Republican 
members of the committee." These members had 
also declared that they had no guarantees to offer. 
He believed that the House Committee only sought 
to amuse the South Avith delusive hope, "until 



204 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

your election, iu order tliat you may defeat the 
friends of secession. If you are deceived by tliem 
it sliall not be my fault. I have put the test fairly 
and frankly. It has been decided against you, 
and now I tell you upon the faith of a true man, 
that all further looking to the North for security 
for your constitutional rights in the Union, ought 
to be instantly abandoned. It is fraught with 
nothing but menace to yourselves and your party. 
Secession by the 4th of March next should be 
thundered forth from the ballot-box by the united 
voice of Greorgia. Such a voice ^vill be your best 
guaranty for liberty, security, tranquillity, and 
glory." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

FAREWELL TO THE SENATE. 

Ox tlie Ttli of Jauuary, 1861, Robert Toombs 
delivered his farewell speech to the United States 
Senate. It received profound attention. It was 
full of brief sentences and bristling points. In 
epigrammatic po^ver, it was the strongest summary 
of the demands of the South. As Mr. Blaine said, 
it was the only speech made by a congressman 
from the seceding States which s[)ecified the 
grievances of the South and which named the 
conditions upon which the States would stay in 
the Union. Other Senators regarded secession as 
a fixed fact. ^Ir. Toombs declared what, in his 
opinion, would prevent it. And yet, as he stood 
at his desk, where for seven years he had been a 
recoo-nized leader, his earnestness and deliberation 
revealed a man whose hand did not hesitate to 
lead a revolt and whose heart did not fail in the 
face of a certain revolution. He acted up to his 
own words, repeated a short while later : " He who 
dallies is a dastard ; he who doubts is damned." 

This speech was bold, succinct, definite. " Sena- 
tors," said Ml'. Toondis, " my countrymen have 

305 



206 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

demanded no new government. They have de- 
manded no new Constitution. The discontented 
States have demanded nothing but clear, distinct, 
constitutional riii-hts, rio-hts older than the Consti- 
tution. What do these rebels demand? First, 
that the people of the United States shall have an 
equal right to emigrate and settle in the Terri- 
tories with whatever property (including slaves) 
they may possess. Second, that property in slaves 
shall be entitled to the same protection from the 
government as any other property (leaving the 
State the right to prohibit, protect, or abolish 
slavery within its limits). Third, that persons 
committing crimes against slave property in one 
State and flying to another shall be given up. 
Fourth, that fugitive sLiats shall be surrendered. 
Fif til, that Congress shall pass laws for the pun- 
ishment of all persons who shall aid and abet inva- 
sion and insurrection in any other State." 

He said : " We demand these five propositions. 
Are they not right ? Are they not just ? AYe Avill 
pause and consider them; but, mark me, we will 
not let you decide the questions for us. I have 
little care to dispute remedies ^vith you unless you 
propose to redress our ^vrongs. 

" Bat no matter what may be our grievances, 
the honorable senator from Kentucky (Mr. Crit- 
tenden) says we cannot secede. AVell, what can 
we do ? We cannot revolutionize. He ^vill say 



FAREWELL TO TUE SEXATE. 207 

that is treason. AVliat can we do ? Submit ? 
They say they are the strongest and they will 
hang ns. Very well ! I suppose we are to be 
thankful for that boon. We will take that risk. 
We will stand by the right; we will take the 
Constitution ; ^ve ^vill defend it with the sword, 
with the halter around our necks. Will that 
satisfy the honorable senator from Kentucky? 
You cannot intimidate my constituents by talking 
to them of treason. 

" You will not regard confederate obligations ; 
you will not regard constitutional obligations; 
you will not regard your oaths, AVhat, then, am 
I to do? Am I a freeman? Is my State a free 
State ? We are freemen ; we have rights ; I have 
stated them. AVe have wrongs ; I have re- 
counted them. I have demonstrated that the party 
now coming into power has declared us outlaws, 
and is determined to exclude thousands of millions 
of our property from the common territory ; that 
it has declared us under the ban of the Union, and 
out of the protection of the laws of the United 
States everywhere. They have refused to protect 
us from invasion and insurrection by the Federal 
po\ver, and the Constitution denies to us, in the 
Union, the right to raise fleets and armies for our 
own defense. All these charges I have proven by 
the record; and I put them before the civilized 
world and demand the judgment of to-day, of to- 



208 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

morrow, of distant ages, and of Heaven itself upon 
tlie justice of tliese causes. I am content, what- 
ever it be, to peril all in so holy a cause. We, 
have appealed, time and again, for these constitu- 
tional rights. You have refused them. We ap- 
peal again. Restore us those rights as we had 
them; as your Court adjudges them to be; just as 
our people have said they are. Redress these fla- 
grant wrongs — seen of all men — and it will restore 
fraternity, and unity, and peace to us all. Refuse 
them, and what then ? AVe shall then ask you, 
^Let us depart in peace.' Refuse that, and you 
present us war. A¥e accept it, and, inscribing 
upon our bannei-s the glorious words, ' Liberty and 
Equality,' we ^^ ill trust to the blood of the brave 
and the God of battles for security and tran- 
quillity." 

This speech created wide attention. It closed 
the career of Robert Toombs as a member of the 
national councils. For sixteen years he had 
served in the two Houses in AVashiugton, holding 
his i-auk among the first men in the country. 

He was then fifty-one years old, full of strength 
and confidence. His leadership among Southern 
men was undisputed ; his participation in public 
business had been long and honorable ; upon mat- 
ters of home and foreign policy his word had been 
huv in the Senate ; his influence had been prepon- 
derating. 



CHAPTER XX. 

TOOMBS AND SECESSION". 

On tlie l(3tli of January, tlie State Sovereignty 
convention met in Milledgeville, Ga. The elec- 
tion had taken place shortly after the delivery of 
Senator Toombs' farewell address, and Georgia had 
ans^vered to his call in the election of delegates by 
giving a vote of 50,243 in favor of secession, and 
39,123 against it. The convention was presided 
over by George W. Crawford, who had lived in 
retirement since the death of President Taylor in 
1850, and who was called on to lend his prestige 
and influence in favor of the rights of his State. 
The convention w^ent into secret session, and when 
the doors were opened, Hon. Engenius A. Nis- 
bet of Bibb offered a resolution, "That in the 
o]>inion of this convention, it is the right and duty 
of Georgia to secede from the Union." On the 
passage of this, the yeas were 165 and the noes 
130. Mr. Toombs voted "yes," and Messrs. Hill, 
Johnson, and Stephens, " no." Next day the com- 
mittee of seventeen, through Judge Nisbet, re- 
ported the Ordinance of Secession. It was short and 
pointed ; it simply declared that the people of the 

209 



210 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

State of Georgia, iu conveutiou assembled, repealed 
tlie ordinance of 1788, whereby tlie Constitution 
of the United States was ratified and adopted. 
The Union was declared dissolved, so far as the 
State of Georgia was concerned, and the State to 
be in full })OSsession of all those rights of sover- 
eignty that l^elonged to a free and independent 
State. On tlie passage of this ordinance, the yeas 
were 208, and the noes, 89. Messrs. Toombs and 
Hill " yes," and Mr. Stephens ''' no." At 2.15 p. m. 
on the 19th of January, a signal gun was fired, and 
the " Stars and Stripes " lowered from the State 
Capitol. One moment later, the ^vhite colonial 
flag of Georgia fluttered to the Avinds, and the 
State was in uproar. The ne\vs flashed to the 
utmost corners of the commonwealth. Guns were 
fired, bells rung, and men were beside themselves. 
The night only intensified this carnival of joy. 
There were some men who shook their heads and 
doubted the wisdom -of this step, and there were 
women and little children who regarded these dem- 
onstrations with awe. They did not comprehend 
what was meant by " going out of the Union," and 
by some inscrutable instinct feared the result of such 
"an act. The old Union sentiment was, perhaps, 
; stronger in Georgia than in any other Southern 
/ State. Georgia was the }'oungest of the thirteen 
States, the last of the commonwealth to come into 
the national compact. Her charter from the Crown 



TOOMBS AND SECESSION. 211 

had originally barred slavery from her limits, but 
the success of the institution in Carolina, the prog- 
ress of other States in subduing land and in cul- 
tivating: indicfo and tobacco in the Southern sa- 
vannas, rendered white labor unavailable, and 
left Georgia a laggard in the ^vork of the younger 
colonies. Finally, slaves were admitted, and com- 
merce and agriculture seemed to thrive. But if 
the State had preserved its original charter restric- 
tions, it is not certain that, even then, the Union 
sentiment would have prevailed. As Senator 
Toombs had declared : " The question of slavery 
moves not the people of Georgia one-half so much 
as the fact that you insult their rights as a com- 
munity. Abolitionists are right w^hen they say 
that there -are thousands and tens of tliousands of 
people in Georgia ^vdlo do not own slaves. A very 
large portion of the people of Georgia own none 
of them. In the mountains there are but a few of 
them ; but no part of our people is more loyal to 
race and country than our bold and hardy moun- 
tain population, and every flash of the electric 
wire brings me cheering news from our moun- 
tain-tops and our valleys that these sons of Georgia 
are excelled by none of their countrymen in loyalty 
to their rights, the honor and glory of the com- 
monwealth. They say, and w^ell say, this is our 
question : we want no negro equality ; no negro 
citizenship ; we want no mongrel race to degrade 



212 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

our own, and, as one man, tliey would meet yuu 
upon tlie ])order witli tlie sword in one hand and 
the torch in the other. They will tell you, ' When 
Ave choose to abolish this thing (slavery), it must 
be done under our direction, according to our will. 
Our own, our native land shall determine this 
question, and not the Abolitionists of the North.' 
Tliat is the spirit of our freemen,'" 

The spirit of the people was plainly manifested 
by the zeal and ardor of Thomas li. R. Cobb. 
He was a young man a\'1io Avent into the secession 
movement with lofty enthusiasm. He had all the 
ardor and reliofious fervor of a crusader. He had 
never held puljlic office, and had taken no hand in 
politics until the time came for Georgia to secede. 
He was tlie younger brother of Ho\vell Cobb. He 
declared that Avhat Mr. Ste})liens said was the de- 
termining sentiment of the hour, that " Georgia 
could make better terms out of the Union than in 
it." The greater part of the people was fired \\\i\\ 
this fervor, which they felt to be patriotic. Gray- 
bearded men vied with the hot blood of youth, and 
a venerable citizen of Augusta, illuminating his 
residence from dome to cellar, blazoned with 
candles this device upon his gateway — "Georgia, 
riajht or wrono; — Geororia ! " Never was a move- 
ment so general, so spontaneous. Those who 
charged the leaders of that day with precipitating 
their States into revolution upon a wild dream of 



TOOMBS AND SECESSlOK ^1^ 

power, did not know tlie spirit and tlie temper 
of the peoi:>le who composed that movement. 
Northern men who had moved South and engaged 
in business, as a oreneral thinoj, stood shoulder to 
shoulder with their Southern brethren, and went 
out with the companies that first responded to the 
call to war. The South sacrificed much, in a 
material point of view, in going into civil conflict. 
In the decade between 1850 and 1860, the wealth 
of the South had increased three billions of dollars, 
and Georgia alone had shown a growth measured 
by two hundi'ed millions. Her aggregate wealth 
at the time she passed the Ordinance of Secession 
was six hundred and seventy-two millions, double 
what it is to-day. In one year her increase was 
sixty-two millions. Business of all kinds was pros- 
pering. But her people did not count the cost 
when they considered that their rights were in- 
vaded. Georf^ia was the fifth State to secede. 
South Carolina, Mississippi, iVlabama, and Florida 
had preceded her. Of the six States which formed 
tlie Provisional Government, Georgia had relatively 
a smaller number of slaves than any, and her State 
debt was only a little more than two and a half 
millions of dollars. Her voting population was 
barely 100,000, but she furnished, when the test 
came, 120,000 soldiers to the Confederate army. 

As a contemporary print of those times re- 
marked, "The Secession convention of Georgia 



214 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

was not divided upon the subject of rights or 
wrongs, but of remedies." Senator Toombs de- 
clared that the convention had sovereign powers, 
"limited only by God and the right." This policy 
opened the way to changing the great seal and 
adopting a new flag. Mr. Toombs was made 
chairman of the committee on Foreign Relations 
and became at once Piime Minister of the young 
Republic. He offered a resolution providing that 
a congress of seceded States be called to meet in 
Montgomery on the 4th of February. He ad- 
monished the convention that, as it had destroyed 
one government, it "svas its pressing duty to build 
up another. It was at his request that commis- 
sioners were appointed from Georgia to the other 
States in the South. Mr. Toombs also introduced 
a resolution, which was unanimously adopted, 
" That the Convention highly approves the ener- 
getic and patriotic conduct of Governor Brown in 
seizing Fort Pulaski." 

The Ordinance of Secession was, on the 31st of 
January, signed by all the members of the conven- 
tion, in the open air, in the Capitol grounds. The 
scene was solemn and impressive. Six delegates 
entered their protests, but pledged "their lives, 
their fortunes, and their sacred honor " in defense 
of Georgia against coercion and invasion. 

When the time came for the election of dele- 
gates to the Provisional Congress at Montgomery, 



TOOMBS AND SECESSION. 215 

Robert Toombs was unanimously selected as tlie 
first deputy from the State at large. His col- 
league, Howell Cobb, was chosen on the third 
ballot. The district selected Francis S. Bartow, 
Martin J. Crawford, E. A. Nisbet, B. H. Hill, 
A. R. Wright, Thomas R. R. Cobb, A. H. Kennan, 
and A. H. Stephens. 

The address to the people of Georgia adopted 
1)y this convention, ^v\as written by Mr. Toombs. 
It recited that " our people are still attached to 
the Union from habit, national tradition, and 
aversion to chano:e." The address alliuled to our 
"Northern Confederates" and declared that the 
issue had been " deliberately forced by the North 
and deliberately accepted by the South. We re- 
fuse to submit to the verdict of the North, and 
in vindication we offer the Constitution of our 
country. The people of Georgia have always l)een 
willing to stand ])y this compact ; but they know 
the value of parchment rights in treacherous 
hands." The report charged that the North had 
outlawed three thousand millions of our j»i-operty, 
put it under a ban, and would subject us, not only 
to a loss of our property, but to destruction of our 
homes and firesides. It concludes: "To avoid 
these evils, we ^vithdraw the powers that our 
fathers delegated to the government of tlie United 
States, and henceforth seek new safeguards for our 
liberty, security, and tranquillity." 



216 ROBERT T003IBS. 

On tlie 4tli of February, 1861, forty -two dele- 
gates met at Montgomery, Ala. Tlie States of 
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
and South Carolina were represented. Howell 
Cobb of Georgia was chosen President of the 
Provisional Congress. Mr. Stephens said it was 
the most intellectual body of men he had ever 
seen. One of the first duties of this convention 
-was to elect a President and vice president of the 
new Confedei-acy. All eyes were turned to 
Robert Toombs. It was by common consent 
ao;reed that Georgia, owing to her commanding 
position, her prominence in the movement, and 
her wealth of great men, should furnish the Presi- 
dent. Toombs towered even above the members 
of that convention. Bold, imperious, and brainy, 
he had frnided the revolution without haste or 
heat, and his conservative course in the Georgia 
convention had silenced those critics who had 
called him 'Hhe genius of the revolution," but 
denied to him the constructive power to build 
upon the ruins he had made. He had, in the 
choice of delegates to the Provisional Congress, 
boldly advocated the election of Mr. Stephens from 
his own district, although the latter was a Union 
man and, at" that time, Avas not on good terms 
with Toombs. Toomljs declared that Alexander 
Stephens was a patriot notwithstanding his views 

asainst secession. He had secured the I'ecom mit- 
er) 



TOOMBS AND SECESSION. 217 

ment of a claugerons resolntiou upon slavery wliicli, 
lie declared, would injure the South by the an- 
nouncement of an ultra policy. He had written a 
very conservative letter to Senator Crittenden. 
He had been a prominent Secessionist, and had 
contemplated the movement as unavoidable when 
men were talking with bated breath. But in the 
opening of the revolution, he had proven a safe 
counselor. Mr. Toombs was approached, and an- 
nounced that he would accept the presidency if it 
were offered with unanimity. He was surprised 
to learn that the delegates from four States had 
agreed on Jett'erson Davis. AVhen this report was 
confirmed, Mr. Toombs, ignorant of the real cause 
of this sudden change of sentiment, forbade further 
canvass of his own claims, and cordially seconded 
the nomination of INIr. Davis. Mr. Toombs was a 
man of rare magnanimity. He was absolutely 
without envy or resentment, and turning to Mr. 
Stephens, pressed him to accept second place on 
the ticket. The announcement of a Georgian for 
vice president effectually disposed of his own 
chance for the presidency. The fact was that Mr. 
Toombs was the first, choice of Georgia, as he was 
thought to be of Florida, Carolina, and Louisiana. 
Jefferson Davis had not been presented by Missis- 
sippi. He liad been selected by that State as the 
commander-in-chief of the military forces and him- 
self preferred a military station. He Avas not in 



218 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Moutgomeiy when liis nomination was confirmed. 
A messenger liad to be dispatched to inform him 
of his election as President of the Confederate 
States of America. 

The sudden selection of Mr. Davis by four 
States probably carries a bit of secret history. 
Old party antagonisms arose at the last moment to 
confront the candidacy of INlr. Toomljs. Toombs 
had summarily left the Whig party in 1850, to 
join the great Constitutional Union movement. 
Jeiferson Davis had always been a States' Rights 
Democrat, and had been defeated for Governor of 
Mississippi by the Constitutional Union party. 
Thus it ^vould seem that, at the eleventh hour, 
party lines were drawn 'against Kobei't Toombs, 
and his boast that he had saved the Union in 
1850 probably cost him the presidency of the new 
republic. Thei'e was a story, credited in some 
quarters, that Mr. Toombs' convivial conduct at a 
dinner party in Moutgomery estranged from him 
some of the more conservative delegates, who did 
not realize that a man like Toombs had versatile 
and reserved powers, and that Tooml)s at tbe ban 
quet board was another sort orf a man from 
Tooml)s in a deliberative body. 

At all events, the recognized leader of the Con- 
federacy was set aside, and Avith rare unanimity 
the election of officers was accepted ^vith unselfish 
patriotism. 



TOOMBS AND SECESSION. 219 

At that time a curious aud remarkable incident 
in the life of Mr. Toombs was related. AVithin 
thirty days he had performed journeys to the ex- 
tent of fifteen hundred miles, largely by private 
conveyance, and during that brief period he served 
under four distinct governments : as senator in 
the Congress of the United States, as delegate 
from his native county (Willces) to the convention 
of the sovereign republic of Georgia, as deputy 
from his State to the Congress of seceding States, 
which instituted a Provisional Government, and 
finally in the permanent government which he 
aided in framino: for the Confederate States of 
America. 

In the perfection of a permanent government 
and the new-molding of a Constitution, Mr. Toombs 
was now diligently engaged. The })rincipal 
changes brought a])out l)y him may be brieily 
recalled. It was specified, in order to cut off 
lo])l)y agents, that Congress siiould grant no extra 
compensation to any contractor after the service 
was rendered. Tliis item originated Avith Mr. 
Toombs, who had noted tlie abuses in the Federal 
Government. Congress was authorized to grant 
to tlie principal officer of each of the executive 
departments a seat upon the floor of either house, 
without a vote, but with the privilege of dis- 
cussing any measure relating to his department. 
This was an old idea of Mr. Toombs, and during 



220 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Ills visit abroad, he liad attended sessions of the Brit- 
isli Parliament in company with Mr. Buchanan, then 
Minister to England. He had been impressed 
with the value of the presence in Parliament of 
the Ministers themselves. During a debate in the 
United States Senate in 1859, Mr. Toombs had 
said : " My own opinion is that it would be a great 
improvement on our system if the Ca])inet officers 
should be on the floor of both Houses, and should 
participate in the debate ; I have no doubt that w^e 
should thus get rid of one of the greatest difficul- 
ties in our Constitution." 

Mr. Toombs also incorporated into the organic 
law a prohil:)ition of the payment of bounties and 
of the internal improvement system. There was 
a tax upon navigation for harbors, buoys, and bea- 
cons, but this w^as adjusted npon the Toombs 
principle of taxing the interest for which the 
burden was le\ded. Mr. Toombs was made chair- 
man of the Finance Committee of the Provisional 
Congress. This appointment was received witli 
general satisfaction. His long legislative expe- 
rience, his genius for finance, and his executive 
power, fitted him for this position. To provide 
ways and means for the new nation which was, as 
yet, w^ithout resources or a system of taxation, in- 
volved no little difficulty. It was important that 
the young Confederacy should exhibit resources 
sufficient to equip her armies and maintain herself 



TOOMBS AND SECESSION. 221 

before she could sue for iudependence or foreign 
recofnitiou. It was for tliese admitted qualities 
of Mr. Toomljs for details aud managemeut, that 
President Davis preferred liim to take the position 
of Secretary of the Treasury. Next to the presi- 
dency this was his real place, but it was suggested 
that a man like Toombs deserved the first position 
in the new Cabinet. A telegram from President 
Davis, offering him the portfolio of Secretary of 
State, reached Mr. Toombs in Augusta. He at 
first declined, but being urged by Mr. Stephens, 
finally consented to serve. The Cabinet was then 
made up as follows. Eobert Toombs of Georgia, 
Secretary of State; C. G. Memminger of South 
Carolina, Secretary of the Treasury ; L. P. Walker 
of Alabama, Secretary of War ; J. H. Reagan of 
Texas, Postmaster-General; J. P. Benjamin of 
Louisiana, Attorney-General ; S. B. Mallory of 
Florida, Secretary of the Navy. 



CHAPTER XXL 

TOOMBS AS PKEMIER OF THE CONFEDERACY. 

One of the first acts of the new Confederate 
Government was to send tliree commissioners to 
Wasliington. Jolm Fors3^tli of Alabama, Martin 
J, Crawford of Georgia, and A. B. Roman of Loui- 
siana, were intrusted by tlie Secretary of State, 
Mr. Toombs, with a speedy adjustment of ques- 
tions growing out of the political revolution, upon 
such terms of amity and good will as would 
guarantee the future welfare of the two sections. 
Mr. Toombs instructed Mi'. Crawford, whom he 
had especially persuaded to take this delicate 
mission, that he should pertinaciously demand the 
evacuation of Fort Sumter and the maintenance 
of the status elsewhere. 

Secretary Seward declined to receive the com- 
missioners in any diplomatic capacity, or even to 
see them personally. He acknowledged " the re- 
ceipt of their communication and caused the com- 
missioners to be notified, pointedly, that he hoped 
they would not press him to I'eply at that time. 
Mr. Seward was represented as strongly disposed 
in favor of peace, aiul the Confederate Government 

333 



PREMIER OF THE CONFEDERACY. 223 

was senii-officially iuforiiied that Fort Sumter 
would probably be evacuated in a sliort time, 
and all immediate dano;er of contlict avoided. 
There is no dou])t that such were Mr. Seward s 
intentions. He had cordially agreed with Gen- 
eral Winfield Scott that the possession of Fort 
Sumter amounted to little in a strategical way, 
and that the peacedoviug people, ISTorth and South, 
should not be driven into the war j^arty by pre- 
mature shock over the provisioning of a fort that 
no Federal force could have held for a week. Mr. 
Lincoln's Cabinet took this position and, by a vote 
of live to two, favored the abandonment of Sum- 
ter. The commissioners were apprised of this 
feeling, and in a dispatch to Secretary Toombs, on 
the 20tli of March, declared that there Avas no 
change in the status. " If there is any faith in 
man," they Avrote, " we may rely on the assur- 
ances we have as to the status. Time is essential 
to the principal issue of this mission. In the 
present posture of affairs, preci[)itation is war." 

On the 26th of March the commissioners, hav- 
ing heard nothiug more, asked the Confederate 
Secretary whether they should delay longer or 
demand an answer at once. Secretary Toombs 
wired them to wait a reasonable time and then ask 
for instructions. He gave them the views of 
President Davis, ^v]lo believed that the counsels 
of Mr. Seward Avould prevail in Washington. 



224 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

" So loDiT as the Uuited States neither declares 
war uor establishes peace, it affords the Confeder- 
ate States the advantage of both positions, and en- 
ables them to make all necessary arrangements for 
public defense and the solidification of government 
more safely, cheaply, and ex]_)editiously than if the 
attitude of the Uuited States was more definite 
and decided." 

Meanwhile new pressure was brought to bear 
on President Lincoln. On the 2d of April, the 
commissioners, who kept up ju-etty well with the 
situation, telegraphed Secretary Toombs : " The 
war party presses on the President ; he vibrates to 
that side." The rumor was given that the Presi- 
dent had conferred with an engineer in regard to 
Fort Sumter. " Watch at all points." Three days 
later they telegraphed that the movement of troops 
and the preparation of vessels of war were con- 
tinued with great activity. " The statement that 
the armament is intended for San Domingo," they 
said, " may be a mere ruse." " Have no confidence 
in this administration. We say, be ever on your 

guard Glad to hear you are ready. The 

notice promised us may come at the last moment, 
if the fleet be intended for our waters." 

On tlie 6th of April Governor Pickens of South 
Carolina ^vas informed that the President had de- 
cided to supply Fort Sumter with provisions, and 
on the 10th, Hon. Levi P. AValker, Secretary of 



PREMIER OF THE CONFEDERAGT. 225 

War at Montgomery, notified General Beanregard, 
then in command of the Confederate forces at 
Charleston, to demand the evacuation of Fort 
Sumtei', and, if refused, to proceed to reduce it. 

There is no douT:>t that the Lincoln Cabinet re- 
versed its position about Sumter. The pressure 
of New England and the AYest became too strong. 
What Sumter lacked in military importance, it 
made up in political significance. The Lincoln 
Government had already been taunted with weak- 
ness by the people who had placed it in ofiice. 
Mr. Lincoln decided, against the better judgment 
of Mr. Seward, to make the issue in Charleston 
Harbor. 

Seward's mind \vas of finer and more reflective 
cast than Mr. Lincoln's. lie had all the points of 
a diplomatist, ingenuity, subtlety, adroitness. He 
was temporizing over the natural antipathy of the 
North to war and tlie probable transient nature of 
the secession feeling in the South. At that very 
moment he was assurino; Ensfhxnd and France that 
" the conservative element in the South, which was 
kept under the surface by the violent pressure of 
secession, will emerge with irresistible force." He 
believed " that the evils and hardships produced 
by secession would become intolerably grievous to 
the Southern States." 

Mr. Lincoln was not temporizing at all. He was 
lookinii: the crisis in the face. AVhat he wanted 



226 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

was support at the North, not at the South. He 
was willino; to force the iio-litius: at Sumter, know- 
ing that the mere act of the Confederates in firing 
upon the flag woukf bring to his aid a united North. 
Secretary Toombs ^vas one man in the Mont- 
gomery Cabinet who was not deceived by Seward's 
sophistries. He knew the temper of Mr. Lincoln 
better than Mr. Seward did. He appreciated the 
feeling at the North, and gave his counsel in the 
Davis Cabinet against the immediate assault upon 
Sumter. There was a secret session of the Cabinet 
in Montgomery. Toombs w^as pacing the floor 
during the discussion over Sumter, his hands be- 
hind him, and his face wearing that heavy, dreamy 
look when in repose. Facing about, he turned 
upon the President and opposed the attack. " Mr. 
President," he said, " at this time, it is suicide, mur- 
der, and ^vill lose us every friend at the North. 
You will wantonly strike a hornet's nest which 
extends from mountains to ocean, and legions, now 
quiet, will swarm out and sting us to death. It is 
unnecessary ; it puts us in the wrong ; it is fatal." 
He clung to the idea expressed in his dispatches 
to the commissioners, that " So long as the United 
States neither declares war nor establishes peace, 
the Confederate States have the advantage of both 
conditions." But just as President Lincoln over- 
ruled Secretary Seward, so President Davis over- 
ruled Secretary Toombs. 



PREMIER OF THE CONFEDERACY. 227 

No event in American history ^YVi^ more portent- 
ous tlian tlie first gun fired from Fort Johnson at 
1.30 o'clock in the morning of April 12, 1861. As 
the shell wound its graceful curve into the air and 
fell into the water at the base of Sumter, the Civil 
War was an accomplished fact. Major Anderson 
replied with his barbette guns from the fort. He 
had but little more than 100 men, and early in the 
engagement was forced to rely entii'ely upon his 
casemate ordinance. The Confederate forces num- 
bered about five thousand, with thirty guns and 
seventeen mortars, and served their guns from the 
batteries on Mount Pleasant, Cummings Point, and 
the floating battery. Fort Sumter was built on 
an artificial island at the mouth of Charleston Har- 
bor, and was about three and a half miles from the 
city. It had cost the government one million dol- 
lars, and had not been entirely completed at the 
time of the bombardment. 

The excitement in Charleston at the opening 
gun was very great. People rushed from their 
beds to the water-front, and men and women 
watched the great duel through their glasses. 
The South had gone into the war with all the 
fervor of conviction. The gunners in Moultrie 
and on Morris Island would leap to the I'amparts 
and watch the effect of their shots, and jump 
back to their guns with a cheer. There was all 
the pomp and sound, but few of the terrors of 



228 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

war, Oo tlie morning of the second clay the 
quarters in the fort caught fire and the whole 
place, was wrapped in flames and smoke, but Major 
Anderson's men won the admiration of their 
enemies by standing by their guns and returning 
the fire at regular intervals. The battle lasted 
thirty-two hours ; more than fifty tous of cannon- 
balls and eight tons of powder were expended 
from weapons the most destructive then known 
to warfare; not a life was lost on either side, 
Sumter and Moultrie were both badly damaged. 
Major Anderson surrendered on Saturday, April 
13. 

The London Ti7nes treated this remarkable 
event in humorous style. The proceedings at 
Charleston were likened to a cricket match or a 
regatta in Eno-land. The ladies turned out to 
view the contest, A good shot from Fort Sumter 
was as nuich applauded as a good shot from Fort 
Moultrie. When the American flag was shot 
away, General Beauregard sent Major Anderson 
another to fight under. When the fort ^vas found 
to be on fire, the polite enemy, who had with 
such intense energy labored to excite the confla- 
gration, offered equally energetic assistance to 
put it out. The only indignation felt throughout 
the affair was at the conduct of the Northern 
flotilla, which kept outside and took no part in 
the fray. The Southerners resented this as an 



PREMIER OF THE CONFEDERACY. 229 

act of treachery toward tlieir favorite enemy, 
Major Anderson. "Altogether," says the Times, 
"nothino' can be more free from the furious 
hatreds, which are distinctive of civil warfare, 
than this bloodless conflict has been." Another 
London paper remarked " No one was hurt. And 
so ended the first, and, we trust, the last engage- 
ment of the American Civil War." 

Mr. Toombs' prediction, that the attack upon 
Fort Sumter would " open a hornet's nest " in the 
North, was sustained. The effect of the assault at 
that time and the lowerins; of the national flas^ to the 
forces of the Confederacy acted, as Mr. Blaine has 
stated, "as an inspiration, consolidating public 
sentiment, dissipating all differences." In fact it 
brought matters to a crisis all around, and prepared 
the two sections for the great drama of the War. 

An important part of the work of Secretary 
Toombs was the selection of a commission to pro- 
ceed to Europe and present the Confederate posi- 
tion to England and France, in order to secure 
recognition of the new nation. Mr. AVilliam L. 
Yancey was placed at the head of this commission, 
and with him were associated Mr. A. D. Mason of 
Virginia, and jMr. A. P. Rost of Louisiana. The 
first month of the term of the Confederate Secre- 
tary of State was occupied in the issue of letters 
of marque. On the 19th of April President Lin- 
coln proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports, and 



230 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

declared that privateers with letters of marque 
from the Southern Confederacy should be treated 
as pirates. This gave Secretary Toombs a strong 
point in dealing with foreign powers. The new 
government had been organized with promptness 
and ability. Great energy was shown in getting 
the civil and military branches equipped. The 
Southern position had been presented with great 
strength abroad, and France and England Avere 
not slow in framing proclamations recognizing the 
Confederate States as belligerents. Next to im- 
mediate recognition as a separate nationality, this 
step was significant, and was the first triumph of 
the diplomacy of Secretary Toombs over Secre- 
tary Seward. Then came the demand from the 
foreign powers that the blockade must be effectual, 
imposing a heavy burden upon the Northern 
States. Lord Lyons, acting in Washington in 
concert with the French Government, declared 
that " Her Majesty's Government would consider 
a decree closing the ports of the South, actually in 
possession of the Confederate States, as null and 
void, and they would not submit to measures on the 
high seas pm^suant to such a decree." Mr Seward 
bitterly complained that Great Britain "did not 
sympathize with this government." The British 
Minister accordingly charged the British Consul 
at Charleston w4th the task of obtaining from the 
Confederate Government securities concerning the 



PREMIER OF TEE COXFEDERACY. 231 

proper treatment of neutrals. He asked tlie ac- 
cession of the Lincoln government and of the 
Davis government to the Declaration of Paris of 
1856, which had adopted as articles of maritime 
law that privateering be abolished ; that the neu- 
tral flag cover's enemy's goods, wath the exception 
of contraband of war ; that neutral goods, with the 
exception of contraband of war, are not liable to 
capture under the enemy's flag ; that a blockade, 
in order to be binding, must be effectual, that is, 
must be maintained by a force sufficient to prevent 
access to the coast of the enemy. These condi- 
ditions, except the first, were accepted by the Con- 
federate Government. 

The Southern Confederacy thus became parties, 
as Mr. Blaine says, to " an international compact " ; 
and when, a few months later, Mr. Seward offered 
to waive the point made by Secretary Marcy many 
years before, and accept the four articles of the 
Paris convention, he found himself blocked, be- 
cause the Confederate States had not accepted the 
first article, abolishing privateering, and her pri- 
vateers must, therefore, be recognized. It was by 
these privateers that great damage was inflicted 
upon American shipping. 

The Confederate States had no i-egular na\y, 
and but few vessels; they were an agricultural 
community, not a commercial or a ship-building 
people. Quite a number of vessels w^ere put in 



232 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

commission under letters of marque, and fhese 
reached the liigli seas by running the blockade. 
Many prizes were taken and run into Southern 
ports. Later on steamers were fitted out and sent 
to sea under command of experienced officers. 
This naval militia captured millions of the ene- 
my's property, and produced a great sensation at 
the North. A Southern agent was sent abroad by 
the naval department to get ships and supplies. 
"In three years' time," says Mr. Blaine, " fifteen 
millions of propei'ty had been destroyed by 
Southern privateers, given to the flames, or sunk 
beneath the waters. The shipping of the United 
States was reduced one-half, and the commercial 
flag of the Union fluttered with terror in every 
■wind that blew, from the whale fisheries of the 
Arctic to the Southern Cross." 

On the 21st of May, the Confederate Congress, 
after providing for the disposition of these naval 
prizes, and the treatment of prisoners of war 
iDrought into Southern ports, adjourned to meet 
on the 20th of July in the City of Kichmond, now 
selected as the permanent seat of Government of 
the Confederacy. 

The powers of Europe never recognized the 
Confederate States as a separate nation. The 
leaders of the English Government were, no 
doubt, inclined to this step, but the rank and file 
of the Liberal party, under the leadership of John 



PREMIER OF THE CONFEDERACY. 233 

Brioflit, refused to sanction sucli a course toward 
a government wliose corner stone was slavery. 
Mr. Seward ingeniously pressed tlie point that 
Southern success meant a slave oligarcliy around 
the Gulf of Mexico. Eussia remained the strong 
ally of the Northern States. England, with the 
Crimean War fresh upon her hands, hesitated 
before engaging Kussia again or imperiling India 
in tlie East. France could not afford to take 
the step without the aid of England. Secretary 
Toombs dispatched a Minister to Mexico to 
look into the interesting tumult then going on. 
Louis Napoleon was filled ^vith his desire of estab- 
lishing Maximilian in Mexico, but his movement 
did not succeed. Maximilian was defeated and 
executed, and Napoleon found himself too much 
eno-ao'ed with the House of Hohenzollern in Ger- 
many to follow any ne\v or original policy in 
America. 

Carlyle declared with dyspeptic acrimony that 
the Civil AVar was the foulest chimney of the cen- 
tury, and should be allowed to burn out. 

Secretary Toombs had issued credentials to com- 
missioners to the unseceded Southern States. On 
the 17th of April Virginia seceded; on the 28th 
of May North Carolina went out of the Union ; 
these were followed by Tennessee and Arkansas. 
The border States of Kentucky and Missouri did 
not formally secede, but indignantly declined to 



234 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

furnish troops iu response to Mr. Lincoln's procla- 
mation. They appointed delegates to a Peace 
Congress to meet in AVashington. 

The tedious routine of the State Department 
did not suit the restless spirit of Robert Toombs. 
He had established relations abroad as belliger- 
ents, and had placed the new government in 
touch with its Southern neighbors. His dis- 
patches were remarkable for brevity, clearness, and 
boldness; his public papers are models of nervous 
style, but he longed for a more active field in the 
revolution. He chafed under red-tape and con- 
vention. Toombs char2:ed the new administration 
with too much caution and timidity. He declared 
that ninety per cent, of war was business, and tbat 
the South must organize victory rather than trust 
entirel}^ to fighting. He urged the government to 
send over cotton to England and buy arms and 
ships forthwith. " Joe Brown," he impatiently 
declared, "had more guns than the whole Con- 
federacy. No new government," said he, " ever 
started with such unlimited credit." Mr. Toombs 
believed that the financial part of the Confeder- 
acy was a failure. " We could have ^vhipped the 
fight," said he, in his impetuous way, " in the first 
sixty days. The contest was haphazard from 
the first, and nothing but miraculous valor kept 
it ecoins:." Mr. Toombs said that had he been 
President of the Confederacy, he would have 



PREMIER OF THE CONFEDERACY. • 235 

mortgaged every pound of cotton to France and 
England at a price that would have remunerated 
the planters, and in consideration of which he 
would have secured the aid of the armies and 
navies of both countries. 

But Kobert Toombs concluded that his place was 
in the field, not in the Cabinet. Too many promi- 
nent men, he explained, were seeking bombproof 
positions. He received a commission as brigadier 
general, and on the 21st of July, 1861, joined 
Generals Beauregard and Johnston at Manassas. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

BEIGADIER GENERAL IN AE:MY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 

When Robert Toombs resigned tlie Cabinet 
and took the field, lie still held tlie seat, as was liis 
prerogative, in tlie Confederate Congress. This 
body, like the British Parliament, sat in chairs, 
without desks. One morning Congress was dis- 
cussing the Produce Loan. By this measure, 
invitations were given for contributions of cotton 
and other croj^s in the way of a loan. By the 
terms of the act these articles were to be sold and 
the proceeds turned over to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, who was to issue eight per cent, bonds 
for them. This was an extraordinary measure, 
and never really amounted to much. Colonel A. 
R. Lamar, at one time Secretary of the Provisional 
Cono-ress, relates that durins; this debate General 
Toombs walked into the hall. " He Avas faultlessly 
attired in a black suit with a military cloak thrown 
over one shoulder and a military hat in his left 
hand. He made a rattling speech against the 
measure. Drawing himself up, he said: "Mr. 
Speaker, we have been told that Cotton is King, 
that he will find his way to the vaults of the 

236 



IN ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 237 

bankers of the Old World ; that he can march up 
to the thrones of mighty potentates, and drag 
from the arsenals of armed nations the dogs of 
Avar ; that he can open our closed ports, and fly 
our young flag upon all the seas. And yet, before 
the first autumnal frost has blighted a leaf upon 
his coronet, he comes to this hall a trembling 
mendicant, and says, ' Give me drink, Titinius, or I 
perish.' " The effect was magical ; Colonel Lamar, 
in commenting upon this dramatic incident, sums 
up the whole character of Robert Toombs : 

"He was cautious and safe in counsel, while 
wild and exasperating in speech." 

When Mr. Toombs was once asked by an Eng- 
lishman, where were the files of the State Depart- 
ment, he answered that " He carried the archives in 
his hat." When he resigned the position of Secre- 
tary of State, Hon. liobert M. T. Hunter of Virginia 
was appointed in his stead. General AVilliam 
,M. Browne had been Assistant Secretary under 
Mr. Toombs. He Avas an Englishman, who came 
to this country during Buchanan's administra- 
tion and edited a Democratic paper in AYashing- 
ton. When General Toombs joined the Army his 
staff was made up as follows ; D. M. Dubose, Ad- 
jutant General ; R. J. Moses, Commissary General ; 
AY. F. Alexander, Quartermaster Major; DeBosset 
Lamar, Aid-de-camp. 

General Toombs' entry into the field, just after 



238 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

tlie first battle of Manassas, found the army of 
tlie Confederacy flushed with victory, but badly 
scattered after the first serious en2:ao;ement of the 
war. General Johnston had declared that even 
after the decisive advantage at Bull Run, pursuit 
was not to be thought of, for his troops were 
almost as much disorganized by victory as the 
Federals by their defeat. Many soldiers, suppos- 
ing the war was over, had actually gone home. 
" Our men," said General Johnston, " had in a 
larger degree the instincts of personal liberty than 
those of the North, and it was found very difficult 
to subordinate their personal wills to the needs of 
military discipline." 

The battle of Manassas had a powerful effect 
upon the Northern mind. The Lincoln Cabinet 
was seized with fear for the safety of AVashingtou. 
New^ troops were summoned to that city, and the 
materials for a magnificent army w^ere placed in 
the hands of General McClellan, who had suc- 
ceeded McDowell, the luckless victim of Manassas. 
More than one hundred thousand men were now 
massed in front of AVashington, while Joseph E. 
Johnston, with fifty-four thousand, advanced his 
outposts to Centreville, and at Munson's Hill 
Toombs' brio;ade was in siorht of the national 
capital. His troops could easily watch the work- 
men building one of the wings of the Capitol, and 
the victorious Confederates, ^vith prestige in their 



IN AEMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 239 

ranks, were actually flaunting tlieir flag in the face 
of Mr. Lincoln. This movement, we are told by 
good generals, was of no military value, but it 
kept the Northern administration in a white heat. 
It confused the Union commanders by crossing 
their counsels with popular clamor and political 
pressure, and it crippled McClellan when he finally 
moved down the Chesapeake to the peninsula, by 
detaining a large part of his force to pacify the 
authorities in AVashiuo;ton. 

When McClellan and Mr. Lincoln were disput- 
ing over their change of base, the military situa- 
tion was suddenly shifted by the evacuation of 
Manassas by the Confederate army, and its retire- 
ment first behind the Rappahannock, then along 
the Kapidan. Johnston, it seems, wanted to be 
nearer his base, and on the 8th of March skillfully 
managed his withdrawal, so that the enemy had 
no idea of his movements. Greneral Toombs' 
brigade started in retreat from Centreville. He 
did not relish this movement. He Avrites home 
from CulpepJ^er : 

This has been a sad and destructive business. We were 
ordered to send off all our heavy baggage, but so badly 
did they manage that none of it was sent back, and every 
particle of that baggage, blankets, and every imaginable 
useful article, was burned up to prevent its falling into the 
hands of the enemy. My brigade must have lost half a 
million of property and all the rest were in the same con- 
dition. Millions of stores Avith cuns and ammunition were 



240 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

destroyed. Never was any business worse managed. The 
enemy liad no more idea of attacking us in Centreville than 
they liad of attacking the Peaks of Otter. Of course, 
wlien we retreated, they sent marauding parties in our 
trail to watch our retreat and take possession of the coun- 
try, and now the whole of the beautiful Counties of Lou- 
don, Fauquier, Prince AYilliam, Fairfax, and the Lord only 
knows how many more, are in the possession of the enemy. 
It was a sad, distressing sight, all the Avay along, and one 
that frequently drew tears from my e^^es. I do not know 
Avhat it means, but I would rather have fought ten battles 
than thus to have abandoned these poor people. We have 
got to fight somewhere, and if I had my way, I would fight 
them on the first inch of our soil they invaded, and never 
cease to fight them as long as I could rally men to defend 
their homes. The great body of the army is now in the 
neighborhood, and I suppose we shall abandon these people 

and retreat back toward Richmond My command is 

in excellent condition. A few broke down on the way, but 
I managed to have them taken care of there and lost none 
of them on the march. 

One of the great features of General Toombs' 
control of liis briiijade was tlie excellent care lie 
took of Ills men. He never allowed tliem to be 
imposed upon by the officers or by otlier com- 
mands. 

This letter betrays the impatience of General 
Toombs over any mismanagement. He was the 
soul of business, and as the transportation facilities 
at Manassas were meager, he chafed under the 
heavy loss to ^vhich his bi-igade was subjected in 
this retreat. AVith impetuous ardor he calls for 



AV AEMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 241 

resistance, not retreat. He did not approve of the 
" Fabian policy " of Joseph E. JoLnstou. As Gen- 
eral Longstreet after\^'ard remarked, "Toombs 
chafed at the delays of the commanders in their 
preparations for battle. His general idea was that 
the troops went out to fight, and he thought that 
they should be allowed to oo at it at once." Near 
Orange Court House, he wrote to his wife on the 
19th of March, 1862, "I know not what is to be- 
come of this country. Davis' incompetency is 
more apparent as our danger increases. Our only 
hope is Providence." 

In January, 1862, the General Assembly of 
Georgia elected Kobert Toombs a member of 
the Confederate States Senate. Benjamin H. Hill 
was to be his colleague. But General Toombs 
had a different conception of his duty. He real- 
ized that he had been prominent in shaping the 
events that had led to the Civil War, and he did 
not shirk the sharpest responsil)ilit3\ He felt that 
his duty was in the field. He had condemned the 
rush for civil offices and what he called " bomb- 
23roof positions," and he wished at least to lead the 
way to active duty by remaining with his army. 

Two months later an effort was made by some of 
his friends to have him appointed Secretary of 
AVar. This would have brought him in close con- 
tact with the army, which he ^\-as anxious to serve. 
The parties behind this movement believed that 



242 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

the great abilities of Mr. Toombs should not be 
hidden behind the comniaiid of a bi'igade. lie 
would have made an ideal war minister. His 
genius for details and his ability to manage affairs 
and plan campaigns ^\'Ould have overmatched 
Edwin M. Stanton. But Mr. Toombs promptly 
cut off this movement in his behalf. 

On 22d March, 1862, he wrote to his wife from 
Oi'ano:e Court House, Va. : 

I thouglit I had been very explicit on that point. I 
would not be Mr. Davis' chief clerk. His Secretar^^of War 
can never be an3'thing else. I told my friends in Richmond 
to spare me the necessity of declining if they found it in 
contemplation. I have not heard that they had any occa- 
sion to interfere So far as I am concerned, Mr. 

Davis will never give me a chance for personal distinction. 
He thinks I pant for it, poor fool. I want nothing but the 
defeat of tlie public enemy and to retire Avith you for the 
balance of my life in peace and quiet in any decent corner 
of a free country. It may be his injustice will drive nie 
from the army, but I shall not quit it until after a great 
victory, in which I shall have the opportunity of doing 
something for the countr}^ The day after such an event 
I shall retire, if I live through it. I have grievances enougli 
now to quit, but I shall bide my time. I get along very 
well Avith the army. I have not seen Jolmston but once ;' 
he was polite and clever. George AV. Smith I see every day. 
He is a first-rate gentleman and a good officer. I hear 
from Stephens constantlj^, but from nobody else in Ricli- 

mond You sa}^ you pray for me daih'. I need it. 

Put it in your prayers that if it be the Avill of God that I 
shall fall, a sacrifice in this great conflict, that I may meet 
it as becomes a gentleman. 



IN ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 243 

An instance of General Toombs' impatience un- 
der red-tape rules may be recalled. A member of 
his brigade was taken ill, and he secured for him 
entrance into the hospital of Richmond. The hos- 
pital was crowded ; regulations were stringent, and 
under some technical ruling his sick soldier was 
shipped back to his brigade. Toombs was fired 
with indignation. He proceeded to sift the affair 
to the bottom, and was told that General Johnston 
had fixed the rules. This did not deter him. 
liidiug up to the commander's tent and securing 
admission, he proceeded to upbraid the general as 
only Toombs could do. AVhen he returned to his 
headquarters he narrated the circumstance to Dr. 
Henry H. Steiner, his brigade surgeon and life- 
long friend. Dr. Steiner, who had been a surgeon 
in the regular army, and had served in the Mexican 
war, was a better tactical officer than Toombs. He 
was himself fearless and upright, but full of tact 
and discretion. '' General," said Dr. Steiner, " you 
have been too rash ; you will be arrested." Toombs 
replied that he thought so, too. He held himself 
in anticipation for two or three days, but he was 
not disturbed. When he ^vas finally summoned to 
General Johnston's tent, it was to consult over a plan 
of movement, and it was noticed that Toombs was 
the only brigadier in counsel. General Johnston 
subsequently remarked that Toombs was the big- 
gest brained man in the Confederacy. The bold- 



244 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

ness and clearness of tlie impetuous Georgian had 
captui'ed tlie grim hero of Manassas, wlio forgave 
the affront in the face of the overmastering mind 
of the man. 

General McClellan reached Foitress Monroe, 
April 2, 18G2, and commenced his march up 
the peninsula. The country is lo^v and flat, 
and the season was unusually wet and dismal. 
The objective point was Richmond, seventy- 
five miles aAvay, and the first obstruction met by 
the Federal army was at Yorktown. The defense 
adopted by General Magruder was a series of dams 
extending along the Warwick River, ^vhicll 
stretched across the peninsula from the Yoi'k to the 
James River, a distance of thirteen miles. The 
fords along the AVarwick had been destroyed by 
dams defended by redoubts, and the invader and 
defender were stationed in dense swamps. At dam 
No. 1 Toombs' troops were often under fire. They 
fought with spirit. Each detachment ^vas on duty 
defending the dam forty-eight hours, and between 
long exposure in the ti'enches, the frequent alarms, 
and sharp sorties, the service was very exhausting. 
It was only possible to change troops at night. 
On the 16th of April Toombs writes : 

One of my regiments, tlie I7tli Georgia, had a skirraisli 
day before yesterday. They acted splendidly, charging 
the Yankees, -and driving them from the rifle-pits, killing, 
wounding, and taking prisoners over one hundred of the 
enemy. I lost but two killed and a few wounded. 



IN ABMT OF KORTBERN TIRCrTNIA. 245 

At tlie siege of Yorktown in tlie early part of 
May, 1862, General Toombs commanded a division 
consistius: of liis o"\^^l and Semmes' brio-ades. He 
had 2357 men in his own and 2342 in Semmes' 
brigade, making about 4700 troops in line. Dur- 
ing this siege General Magruder reports that Gen- 
eral Toombs supported Cobb's brigade, and 
promptly and energetically led the remainder 
of his command under fire, arriving just be- 
fore the enemy ceased their attack, and in time 
to share its dan2;er. General Ma^-ruder had 
only 11,000 men under him in the peninsula, 
and General Huger but 8000, to oppose Mc- 
Clellan's march with 80,000. Johnston and Lee 
both pronounced the peninsula untenable, and on 
the 4th of May Yorktown was evacuated. 

After the retreat from the peninsula. General 
Johnston concentrated his entire army behind the 
Chickahominy River, sixteen miles from Rich- 
mond. On the 12th of May General Toombs 
writes home that his command near the Chicka- 
hominy was "resting easily after a disagreeable 
march from Yorktown. I hear that there is great 

consternation in Richmond The loss of 

New Orleans gives us a terrible blow, and, fol- 
lowed by Norfolk, makes it necessary for us to 
strike a decisive blow somewhere." On 19th of 
May, 1862, he writes home from the camp near 
Richmond : 



246 noSERT TOOMBS. 

"We seem to liuve come iij)]iere to defend tliis city. You 
ask me my opinion of the present state of the country. It 
is bad enough. The utter incompetency of Mr. Davis and 
his West Point generals have brought us to the verge of 
ruin. If McClellan is unwise enough to fight us here, we 

shall whip and drive him out of Virginia As to 

Richmond, it will never be taken while this army is 
here. 

General Toombs' estimate of tlie army and of 
the futility of an attack from McClellan was jnsti- 
iiecl when, after tlie 26th of Jnne, the Army of the 
Potomac, almost in sight of the spires of Rich- 
mond, was forced to reel back, in the deadly clinch 
of a seven days' combat, to the James River. The 
Confederate army changed its position from one 
of retreat to a brilliant and aggressive policy, and 
the subtle tactics of Johnston gave way to the 
bold strokes of Lee. The South was thrilled with 
victory. 

General Toombs frequently referred to the in- 
competency of Mr. Davis. The letters which have 
just been quoted were "wi'itten to his wife, and 
^vere not made public then, but he did not hesi- 
tate to express his opinion openly. Jefferson 
Davis and Mr. Toombs had some differences 
while the former was Secretary of War under 
Franklin Pierce and IVIr. Toombs was in tlie Sen- 
ate. Mr. Toombs believed that President Davis 
was too partial to West Point, at which school 
Mr. Davis had been trained, and that in his man- 



m ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 247 

agement of tlie army lie showed tlie tenacity of a 
martinet rather than the breadth of a statesman. 

In February, 1859, the Army Appropriation bill 
had come up before the United States Senate. 
Mr. Toombs attacked, and Mr. Davis defended the 
whole system. Mr. Toombs contended that the 
compensation of army officers was too great. It 
was more than the same talent could command in 
any other walk of life. It was upon a wrong basis. 
" You take a boy of sixteen and send him to West 
Point, and when he comes out you give him |1400 
a year. In the coui'se of a few years you carry 
him up to $3000, $6000, or $8000. Take the gen- 
eral employment of the youths of the country Mho 
are educated at the different colleges for all civil 
purposes. You may have the highest amount of 
genius and intellect, and you get nothing like such 
average there. It wdll take them many years to 
make that much money." Mr. Toombs declared 
that a brigadier general's commission was higher 
than that of a United States Senator. " I think," 
said he, "it requires as great qualifications to govern 
this country as it does to be a brigadier general." 
Officers had increased far beyond the wants of 
the country. Members of Congress appoint cadets 
for the different districts; "they are generally 
associated in some way, as brothers, sons, or 
cousins, with the governing power." He thought 
a salary of $600 or $900 for the West Point grad- 



248 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

nates enougL. According to the way army com- 
missions were valued in England, tlie commission 
of a lieutenant wlio graduated at West Point could 
not be wortli less tlian $50,000. The pay of a 
captain w^as liiglier than that of a judge. That 
position required the highest ability and integrity, 
and the average salary of a judge was but $2000, 
without traveling expenses. Mr. Toombs con- 
tended that West Poiut men seldom reflected any 
opinions but those of the government a\ hich em- 
ployed them. They seldom sympathized with the 
people, and he wanted a government of the people. 
" You take a boy to West Point," he said, " give 
him quarters, and fuel, and clothes, and maintain 
him, and you say he has rendered service. When 
the citizens of this country send their sons to col- 
lege they pay their expenses or work their way 
throuo^h ; but when a ])ov is carried to West Point 
he is taken care of ; a house is provided for him ; 
clothes are provided for him ; instructors are pro- 
vided for him, and that is called being in service. 
I lay down the proposition that the true theory of 
Avages, if you employ these people to keep the 
peace, is exactly the same — a constable's pay — you 
ought to pay them what they can be had for." 

Mr. Davis held that army officers were constantly 
tempted to resign by oifers of higher pay. It 
was the training of these men in the service, not 
for the service, it \vas their attachment for the 



IN AliMY OF NORTHERiY VIRGINIA. 249 

country wbicli made tliem so valuable. It was 
better to instruct men for officers' places and then 
appoint tbein, than to appoint tlieni and then in- 
struct tliem. He tliouglit appointments were free 
from partisan selection. A soldier's devotion was 
as broad as the continent. A West Point cadet is 
a warrant officer ; he goes there to serve the govern- 
ment as it may direct. It directs him to stay 
there until he has sufficient elementary instruction 
to properly discharge the duties of an officer. 

The debate showed the views of the two men, 
and indicated the differences which, from points 
of pul)lic policy, soon deepened into personal dis- 
like. On the 30th of May, Toombs wrote from 
tlie army, "Davis is polite and formal; so am I." 

In the latter part of 1862 it was evident that 
tlie two armies must meet and contend for the 
mastery in Virgniia. The day before the seven 
days' fighting commenced, Dr. Steiner said to 
General Toombs, his intimate friend : " General, 
I have a favor to ask of you. Keep your mind 
unclouded during these important operations." 
Dr. Steiner knew that during the heat and excite- 
ment of battle, temptation was great among soldiers 
to take ardent spirits, a practice that had grown 
somewhat upon General Toombs during his service 
in the field, and which at times deprived him 
of his best powers. "Why, doctor, I gladly 
promise," said the great Georgian. Nor did he, 



250 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

(luring the week, take a glass of any sort of 
liquor. 

General Toombs' brigade was the First Bri- 
gade, First Division, Army of Northern Virginia, 
and during the campaign of the peninsula, was 
in Magruder's division. On June 15, 1862, 
Toombs occupied the most exposed position, which 
was held for nine days. Magruder recommended 
I'elief for his troops, which had been suffering 
from lack of rest and care. Just before the seven 
days' fight Toombs' brigade was placed in D. R. 
Jones' division and Mao;ruder commanded his 
own, Jones', and McLaw's divisions, holding 
about 13,000 men. Toombs' brigade was com- 
posed of the 1st, 15th, 17th, and 20th Georgia 
regiments. 

On the 26th of June Toombs' brio;ade was 
posted upon the east of Garnett's House, on 
Golding's farm, just in front of the enemy. Both 
sides threw up l)reastworks so near that neither 
could advance its picket line. " Just before 
dark," sa^s Dr. Steiner, " Mr. Toombs i-eceived 
orders to charge the enemy, firing having been 
heard on the left. The position was a dangerous 
one. A charge at that time of the evening was 
perilous. Just in front lay a deep gulch — Labor- 
in- Vain Ravine — which was alive with the 
enemy, and the charge must be through an un- 
protected field of wheat and clover. General 



IX ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 251 

Toombs was astonislied at tlie order. His first 
instructions had been to put himself near Garnett 
House, to hold his position and to take advantage 
of any retreat of the enemy. He doubted tlie 
authenticity of the order, an'd sent word that he 
would not obey unless in writing. Pretty soon 
written instructions were returned and General 
Toombs prepared for what he believed to be a 
forlorn hope. He advanced seven companies of 
the 2d Georgia Regiment, 750 men, under Colonel 
B. M. Butt, toward the enemy in the face of a 
heavy front and flank Are. Coh^iel Williams' 
regiment crossed the field at double-quick under 
a galling fire from the opposite side of the ravine. 
Unshaken by fearful odds, they held their ground 
and replied with spirit. The 15th Georgia Regi- 
ment, under Colonel ]\IcIntosh then entered the 
fio-ht, and this ofallant officer ^vas mortally wounded. 
The I7th Georgia charged on the left and the 20th 
on the right. The engagement was a very bloody 
one. Over 200 of Toombs' men were lost and 
several valuable officers were killed. The oppos- 
ing troops were a part of General Hancock's com- 
mand, and the firing ceased only with the night. 
Next morning tlie enemy retreated, and Toombs' 
men pressed forward and held their position. 
General Toombs was censured for this engage- 
ment, for which, it seems, he was in no wise re- 
sponsible. 



252 BOBERT TOOMBS. 

Ou tlie 1st of July, about three o'clock in tlie 
afternoon, commenced one of tlie famous battles 
of the war. McClellan's army had gotten away 
from its perilous position astride the Chicka- 
hominy, and now found itself united and strongly 
intrenched on the heights of Malvern Hill. All 
hope of destroying that aiiny Avas gone, and it 
Avas evident that an engagement must ensue, with 
the odds in favor of the Union army. It Avas in 
many respects like the battle of Gettysburg, ex- 
cept that the Confederate forces Avere not handled 
AA'ith the precision and effectiveness of the historic 
sorties against Cemetery Heights. The battlefield 
Avas in plain range of the enemy's gunboats, and 
there Avas much surprise that General Lee should 
haA'e sanctioned an engagement at that point. 
General D. H. Hill misunderstood the signal for 
attack at Malvern Hill, and late in the afternoon 
ordered the char2i:e. Toombs' brio;ade had been 
marching and countermarching all day, and Avent 
into action much thinned from the effects of the 
sharp fighting at Labor-in- Vain Eavine. There 
Avas no concerted attack. The charge seems to 
haA^e been made by brigades, eA^en single regiments 
being throAvn forward. They advanced through 
a SAvamp, and the difiiculties of the charge, OAA'ing 
to a murderous fire Avhich raked the plain from 
the hills, 600 yards aAA^ay, cannot be exaggerated. 
Toombs' brigade Avas one of the first to reach the 



IN ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 253 

plateau s^vept by fifty gnus. It advanced witli 
Anderson's brigade^ but obliqued to the left about 
half -way up the hill, and took position near a 
fence, where the troops, suffering fearfully from 
the cool, deadly aim of the Federal gunners, were 
ordered to lie down and secure some sheltei' from 
the cannon-shot. It was at this time that General 
D. H. Hill rode up to General Toombs and or- 
dered his brigade forward. Some sharp ^vords 
ensued between these officers, and the men moved 
forward handsomely to the brow of the hill. At 
this time, however, the steady stream of fugitives 
pressing back from the charge, broke the alignment 
of the brigade and separated the regiments. Colo- 
nel Butt's regiment went forward with Kershaw's 
brigade. The whole Confederate charge was soon 
checked and the troops fell back in disorder. 
Their loss was fully 5000 men, and the loss in 
Toondjs' brigade was 219 men, making his losses 
in the two eno^airenients over one-third of his en- 
tire number. Malvern Hill was a blunder which 
was never repeated, but it w^as a disastrous one 
for the Georgia troops. 

The sid)joined correspondence will be under- 
stood in the \vi\it of the meetino; of General D. H. 
Hill and General Toombs near Malvern Hill dur- 
ing the progress of the charge of the Confederate 
forces. 



254 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Headquarters First Brigade, First Division, 
In the Field, July 0, 1862. 
Major General D. H. Hill. 

Sir: Military movements since Tuesday last have 
prevented an earlier reply to your conversation Avith 
me on the battlefield that evening. I understood 
you to say, among other things, that " Your (my) 
brigade would not fight"; that you "always knew it 
would not fight" ; tliat it "pretended to want to fight, 
but Avould not " ; " Where were you when I was rid- 
iug in front on m^Miorse trA'ing to rall}^ your bi'igade? " 
I desire first to know whether I am cori-ect in my under- 
standing of your language, and if not, wherein I am mis- 
taken. 

And secondly, to request of you such explanation of that 
language as you may choose to give. 

I am sir. 
Your obedient servant, 

Robert Toombs. 



July 6, 1862. 

General: Your note has just been received. My re- 
marks were pei-sonal to j'ourself and not to your brigade. 
I did not in the sliglitest degree reflect on your men. 
What I said was in substance this : " You have been want- 
ing to fight, and now that you have one, you have got out 
of it." There were witnesses to our conversation, and if 
my remarks were severer, I will let you know. 

It may be well to suggest to you tliat, as the command- 
ing ofiicer on the field, I have an official report to make 
which will not l)e modified bj^ 3'our note. 

It is notorious tliat you have a thousand times expressed 
your disgust tliat the commanding general did not permit 
you to fight. It is equally notorious that you retired from 



IN AEMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 255 

the field. These are the two facts of which I reminded 
you on Tuesday. I made no comment upon them, and if 
the simple truth has been offensive, the interpretation of it 
has been your own. 

Yours trul}^, 

D. IT. Hill, 
Brigadier General Toohbs. Major General. 

Headquarters First Brigade, First Division, 
General D. H. Hill. July 6, 1862. 

/Sir: Your note of this date has just been received. It 
is scarcely necessary for me to say it is not satisfactory. 
It would be inappropriate to comment uj^on it properl}^ in 
this note, and for that reason alone I waive it for the present. 
As to your remark tliat you were the commanding officer 
on the lieUl on the 1st inst., I never before heard of it, nor 
do 1 now think so, but, however that fact may be, I am at 
a loss to know for what reason you state it unless it was to 
menace and intimidate me in the pursuit of proper satis- 
faction for the unprovoked insult you have cast upon me. 
If that was your object, tliis note will satisfy you tliat you 
have failed in your object. I now demand of you personal 
satisfaction for the insult jon cast upon my command and 
myself on the battlefield on the 1st inst., and for the rep- 
etition and aggravation thereof in your note of this day. 
I refer j^ou to my friend Colonel Benning for all necessary 
arrangements. 

Your obedient servant, 

Robert Toombs. 

Camp near Richmond, Ya., 

July 12, 1862. 
General: Your note of the 6th was received yesterday. 
I must again enter my protest against your second declara- 
tion that I reflected upon your brigade in the battle of 



256 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Malvern Hill. Witnesses to our interview affirm that my 
remarks Avere entirely personal to yourself. 

In regard to your demand for satisfaction, I construe it 
to mean eitlier that I must apologize to you for the lan- 
guage used by me on the battlefield, or that I must grant 
you a hostile meeting. » If the first interpretation be correct, 
I will state that I will make full, public, and ani2:)le conces- 
sions when satisfied that I did you injustice ; and this I 
Avould do without any demand. I certainly thought that 
you had taken the field too late, and that you left it too 
early. You may, however, have done your Avhole duty, 
and held your ground as long as it Avas possible for 
a brave and skillful officer to hold it. If the facts prove 
this to be so, no one will be more gratified than mj'self, 
and my acknowledgment of error Avill be cordial and 
complete. 

But if your demand means a challenge, its acceptance, 
Avhen we have a country to defend and enemies to fight, 
would be highly improper and contrary to the dictates of 
plain duty, without reference to higher grounds of action. 
I will not make myself a part}^ to a course of conduct for- 
bidden alike by the plainest principles of duty, and the 
laws which we have mutually sworn to serve. 
Yours truly, 

D. H. Hill, Major General. 

Brigadier General Robert Toombs. 



Just what General Toombs replied to this is not 
known. The letter has not been preserved in this 
correspondence. It evidently declared that the ex- 
planation was not satisfactory. Major R. J. Moses, 
Jr., a member of General Tooml^s' staff, submitted 
in writing the follomng report of his recollection of 



IN ARMY OF NORTEEBN VIRGINIA. 257 

General Hill's words to General Toombs at Mal- 
vern Hill : 

Where is your brigade, sir ? I told you that I wanted a 
fighting brigade, and your brigade will not fight. I knew 
it would not, and you are the man Avho pretends to have 
been spoiling for a fight. For shame ! Rally your troops ! 
Where were you when I was riding up and down your line 
rallying your troops ? 

Major Moses adds : 

As aid-de-camp of General Robert Toombs, I remained 
with him until some time after this conversation. Pre- 
vious to this conversation General Toombs had been about 
fifteen yards to the rear of the center of his line and his 
troops were unbroken. Tiiere were many men coming by 
\is, but I saw not over ten from General Toombs' brigade. 
The order was given " Forward, left oblique," and General 
Toombs moved to the left of his line. When General Hill 
met him and commenced this attack on the character of 
himself and his brigade without the slightest provocation, 
General Toombs had not only been rallying tlie troops, but 
continued to use his best endeavors to rally them till late 
at night. I was with General Toombs the whole time from 
the commencement of tlie action until half or three-quar- 
ters of an hour after the conversation. 

Tlie following is the concluding letter of the 
correspondence : 

July 15, 1862. 

General: I regret that my last note, which was intended 

to be conciliatory, has been misunderstood or misappre- 

ciated. I take it for granted that you know enough of ray 

previous history to be aware that a hostile meeting, under 



358 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

any circumstances, would be abliorrcnt to my principles 
and character. At this time it would be in the highest de- 
gree improper. I have offered you the only redress which 
I could make even after a meeting, viz., an acknowledg- 
ment of error Avhen convinced of that error. As no good 
can result from a contmued correspondence, it will close on 
my part with this communication. 

Yours truly, 

D. H. Hill, Major Genei'al. 
Brigadier General Robert Toombs. 

General Hill was a good mau and a brave sol- 
dier. His devotion to the Confederate cause Avas 
undoubted, but his zeal sometimes made him harsh, 
and more than once he placed himself in the posi- 
tion of reflecting upon the conduct of others. On 
one occasion at the battle of Chickamauga, where 
General Hill ^vas in command of the extreme right 
of the Confederate line, on the second day of the 
battle information was brought to him of the sud- 
den and unexpected advance of a strong Fedei'al 
force against his line. It proved to be the division 
of the Federal General Gordon Grano-er. General 
Hill and General W. H. T. AYalker, who com- 
manded two divisions under General Hill, pro- 
ceeded at once to the threatened point, to ascertain 
the situation of affairs, accompanied by some mem- 
bers of their staff. Arrived at a point where this 
new arrival of Federal forces could be seen. Gen- 
eral Walker deferi'ed to General Hill and asked 
him, " What do you wish me to do ? " 



IN ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 259 

" What do I want you to do ? " said Hill witli 
severity, and even with something like a snarl, " I 
want you to fight." 

General Walker flushed up in a moment. He 
was not a man to deserve any reflection upon his 
couivage or to bear it when offered. No man in 
the old army had a higher and more deserved re- 
putation for dashing courage. He had been des- 
perately wounded in Florida, and again wounded, 
supposed to be mortally, in leading the assault on 
Chapultepec in the Mexican War, and had, on many 
occasions, o;iven undoubted evidence of his valor 
and fidelity. He answered hotly, " Of course I will 
fight ; you know that, General Hill, \vcll enough ; 
but, by God ! sir, there are two ways of figlitiug, 
one to whip and the other to get whipped." 

The point was a good one. JVIajor Joseph B. 
Gumming, chief of General Walker's staff, who re- 
lated this incident, says it liad the desired effect. 

When Longstreet marched against Pope he 
stationed Gener;d Toombs' brigade to guard 
one of the fords of the llapidan. Toombs ^^'as 
absent at the time and when he rode up ordered 
them back to camp. General Longstreet heard 
of Toombs making stump speeches and "refer- 
ring in anything l)ut complimentary terms of 
his commander." He sent General Toombs to 
Gordonsville. Afterward he received an apol- 
ogy from Toombs and directed him to Join 



260 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Lis command. As we were preparing for tbe 
cliarge at Manassas (second battle), Toombs got 
there, riding rapidly with his hat in his hand, and 
was much enthused. I was just sending a courier 
to his command with a dispatch. ' Let me take 
it,' he exclaimed. ' With pleasure,' I resj)onded, 
and handed him the paper. He put spurs to his 
horse and dashed off, accompanied by his courier. 
When he rode up and took command of his bri- 
gade there was wild enthusiasm, and, everything 
being ready, an exultant shout Avas sent up, and 
the men sprang to the charge. I never had any 
more trouble Avith Toombs. We were afterward 
warm personal friends." 

On the 30th of August, 1862, Hon. A H. 
Stephens wrote to Mrs. Toombs that General 
Toombs was still at Gordonsville. He said: 

How long lie will remain, I do not know. I thought at 
first that it would only be for a day or two, or until 
General Longstreet could receive and reply to two notes he 
had Avritten, explaining to my mind very fully and satisfac- 
torily his acts and conduct, which, it seems to me, General 
Longstreet had misunderstood. Such is still my opinion, 
and yet I may be mistaken. I do not know much of Gen- 
eral Longstreet. I only know that General Toombs, Avho 
does know him, always expressed very high admiration of 
him as an officer. 

At the second battle of Manassas, August 29, 
1862, Toombs' brigade in Jones' division held the 



IN ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 261 

rear of Longstreet's corps. Early in the morning 
tlie brigade took up the march in the direction of 
the old battlefield of Manassas, where heavy fir- 
ins; was heard. Arrivino- at noon it was stationed 
on the extreme right, or upon the Manassas Gap 
railroad. The brigades formed in echelon. Gen- 
eral Longstreet in his published report com- 
mended especially General Toombs for gallant 
conduct at Manassas Plain. 

General D. R. Jones, in his report of Manassas. 
says: 

General Toombs, released from arrest, under which he 
had been since the 18th of August, came upon the field 
shortly after his brigade went in under fire and accompan- 
ied it in action. 

Captain H. L. French, of the ITtli Georgia Regi- 
ment, says : " Soon after our engagement, to our 
great satisfaction, we unexpectedly met our 
gallant commander, Brigadier General Robert 
Toombs, who, anticipating the fight, had ridden 
hard all day. He "\^'as greeted ^^ith liearty cheers, 
and said, ' Boys, I am proud of the report given of 
you by General Jones. I could not be with you 
to-day, but this was owing to no fault of mine. 
To-morrow I lead you.' " 

One report of this engagement declares that as 
Toombs dashed into the fire and joined his men. 
he waved his hat and shouted, "Go it, boys ! lam 



262 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

witli you again. Jeff Davis can make a gen- 
eral, but it takes God Almighty, to make a 
soldier ! " 

The expulsion of Pope only accelerated tlie 
momentum of the Army of Nortliern Virginia. 
From the front of Richmond, the theater of oper- 
ations was transferred at once to the front of 
Washington, and the Union army was again on 
the defensive. General Lee, freed from the ne- 
cessity of guarding the Confederate capital, 
resolved to invade Maryland. He reasoned 
that the prestige of the invasion would advance 
the cause of the young nation abroad ; that it 
would relieve Virginia from incursions during the 
winter, and that the presence of the army in Mary- 
land would raise the standard of revolt and cause 
the liberation of that State from the Union cause. 
Lee's army, however, was not equal to such an 
expedition. It was not well clothed or armed, 
and barely numbered 40,000, while McClellan 
had 80,000. 

Toombs' brigade accompanied Longstreet's 
corps in its counter-march from Hagarstown to 
Hill's support. On the 14th of September these 
were withdrawn to the valley of the Antietam. 
The creek of Antietam runs obliquely to the 
source of the Potomac, and empties into that river 
six miles above Harper's Ferry. The Confederate 
lines were, on the 15th, drawn up in front of 



IN ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 263 

Sharpsburg, Longstreet being ou tlie riglit of the 
road from Sliarpsburg. 

In this phace the creek is crossed by fonr stone 
bridges, and three of these were strongly guarded 
by the Confederates. Burn side's army corps was 
stationed on the Sharpsburg Turnpike, directly 
in front of bridge No. 3. The preliminary deploy 
occupied the 16th of September, an artillery duel 
enlivening the time before the battle. Burnside 
lay behind the heights on the east bank of the 
Antietam and opposite the Confederate right, 
which, Swinton says, it was designed he should 
assail, after forcing the passage of the Antietam 
by the lower stone bridge. The part assigned to 
General Burnside was of the highest importance, 
for a successful attack by him upon the Confeder- 
ate right, would, by carrying the Sharpsburg 
Crest, force Lee from his line of retreat by way 
of Shepherdstown. Swinton says this task should 
have been an easy one, for the Confederate forces 
at this point had been drawn upon to recruit the 
left where Hooker had made his furious assaults. 

There was left in the right wing of the Con- 
federate army but a single division of 2500 men 
under General D. B. Jones, and the force actually 
present to dispute the passage of the stone bridge 
did not exceed 400. These troops were under 
the direction of General Robert Toombs, and this 
engagement made his reputation as a fighter and 



264 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

was one of the most brilliant and memorable of 
tbe Civil AVar. It was one o'clock before Burnside 
charged. General Lee, in his report of the bat- 
tle, said : 

In the afternoon the enemy advanced on our right, where 
General Jones' division was posted, who handsomely 
maintained his position. General Toombs' brigade, guard- 
ing the bridge on Antietam Creek, gallantly resisted the 
approach of the enemy, but his superior number enabling 
him to extend liis left, he crossed below the bridge and 
assumed a threatening attitude on our right, which fell 
back in confusion. By this time, between 3 and 4 o'clock 
P.M., A. P. Hi-ll, with five of his brigades, reached the 
scene of action and drove the enemy from the position 
they had taken. The bridge was defended with two regi- 
ments of Toombs' brigade (2d and 20th) and the batteries 
of General Jones. General Toombs' small command re- 
pulsed live diffei-ent assaults made by greatly superior 
forces, and maintained its position with distinguished 

gallantly Toombs charged the flank of the enemy, 

while Archer moved upon the front of the Federal line. 
The enemy made a brief resistance and then ran in eon- 
fusion. 

Such commendation from the commander-in- 
chief of the Confederate army speaks for itself. 

Speaking of the last charge, when the Federals 
were driven back over the creek in the counter- 
attack, General Jones says : 

General Toombs, whom I had sent for, arriving from 
the right with a portion of his brigade (11th Georgia Reg- 



Z.V ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 265 

iment) was ordered to charge the enemy. This he did 
most gallantly, supported by Archers brigade, delivering 
fire at less than fifty yards, dashing at the enemy with 
tlie bayonet, forcing him from the crest and following him 
down the hill. 

General Garnett's report credits Toombs witli 
liaviDg "reenforced tlie right just after it had 
been driven back, and restored the fortunes of the 
day in that quarter." 

From the report of General Toombs it appeared 
that when hje first moved into INIaryland he was 
assigned to command a division composed of 
Toombs', Drayton's, and Anderson's brigades, 
and took possession of Hagerstown. On Sept- 
ember 14 he was ordered to Sharpsburg, two of 
his regiments having been sent to AVilliamsport 
to protect the wagon trains. With two small 
regiments left, General Toombs took position near 
the bridge over the Antietam on the road to 
Harper's Ferry. He took possession of the ground 
with the 20th Georgia Kegiment, commanded by 
Colonel Jonathan B. Gumming, and the 2d Georgia 
Regiment, commanded by Colonel Holmes. The 
creek was comparatively straight by this bridge. 
He formed his regiments along the creek in more 
open order than was desirable on account of the 
smallness of his number. Subsequently the 50th 
Georgia, with scarcely 100 men, was placed under 
his command. Colonel Eubanks' battery was by 



2G6 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

order of General Longstreet placed in liIs rear. 
The enemy opened on liis j)osition on Tuesday 
evening, the 16th of September. On Wednesday 
morning, his pickets were driven in and the enemy 
menaced his position. The ground descended 
gently to the creek covered with a narrow strip of 
woods, affording slight protection. Tlie enemy ap- 
2:)roached by the road parallel with his line of 
battle, he says, exposing his flank to a destructive 
fire. Between 9 a. m. and 1 p. ]\r. the Federals 
made five attempts to carry the bridge, and were 
repulsed by the 2d and 20th Georgia regiments. 
Failino; to wrest the brido-e from its lieroic de- 
fenders, the enem}^ turned his attention to the 
fords. " Not being able to get reenforcements, 
and seeing that the enemy would cross and attack 
my front, light flank, and rear. Colonel Holmes 
having been killed. Major Harris wounded, both 
regiments having suffered heavily, ammunition 
nearly exhausted, and the battery withdrawn, I 
Avithdrew my command to a position, designated 
by Longstreet, opposite the lower fords. This 
change of position was made very satisfactorily 
and without . serious loss. The 15th and 17th 
Georgia regiments and part of the 11th, previously 
detached, now came up and occupied the new 
position. The 20th and 2d went to the ammunition 
train to replenish their cartridge boxes. The 
enemy moved through the bridge and ford with 



IN ARM7 OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 267 

extreme caution, and lost nearly two tours in cross- 
ing, about which time A. P. Hill's division came 
from Harper's Ferry. ' I was ordered by Longstreet 
to put my command in motion to meet the enemy. 
I found them in possession of the ground I was 
ordered to occupy, including the bridge road and 
the suburbs of Sharpsburg. AVith less than one- 
fifth the numbers of the enemy and within 
100 paces of his lines I determined to give battle. 
I had instantly to determine either to retreat or 
to fight. A retreat would have left the town of 
Sharpsburg and General Longstreet's rear open to 
the enemy. The enemy advanced in good order 
to mthin sixty or eighty paces, when the effective- 
ness of the fire threw his column into considerable 
confusion, perceiving which I instantly ordered a 
charge, which was brilliantly executed by my 
whole line. The enemy fled in confusion toward 
the river, making two or three efforts to rally, 
wliicli wore soon defeated. The enemy brought 
over the bridge a battery. I ordered Eichai'dson's 
battery to open upon it, and at the same time the 
15th and 20th Georgia charged upon it and com- 
pelled it to rejoin the flying infantiy. I desired 
to pursue the enemy across the river, but, being 
deficient in artillery, I sent to General Lee for a 
battery, which came up too late. I then determined 
to move my troops to my first position along the 
river, but received the order to occupy the heights 



268 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

on the opposite side of tlie road leading to tlie 
bridge from Sharpsburg, aud tliere the troops 
bivouacked for the night." 

The gallant conduct of Toombs' brigade at 
Sharpsburg was the theme on both sides. The 
country rang with its exploits aud the fiery Geor- 
gia brigadier became the toast of the army. 
Burnside's heavy losses abundantly proved the 
stoutness of the resistance and the deadliness of 
the charges of the Georgia troops. 

The next evening, on the edge of Sharpsburg, 
General Toombs and liis aids crossed a little 
branch on his way to the headquarters of Colonel 
Benninff. General Toombs rode his famous mare 
" Gray Alice," so well known to his command. 
He was not very far over when a troop of calvary 
rode up. He challenged them, and they answered 
"We are friends." Captain Troup of his staff, 
however, detected the ruse and fired into them. 
The squad returned the fire. General Toombs 
was shot through the hand with which he was 
holding the reins. The gray mare at once became 
unmanao-eable and ran back across the branch. 
As soon as he could control the mare, General 
Toombs rode back to Colonel Benning and, report- 
ing his wound, turned his brigade over to Colonel 
Bennino". When it became known that General 
Toombs was wounded his men were deeply pained. 
Always solicitous for their welfare, his soldiers 



IN ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 269 

were devotedly attached to liim. He took care of 
his brigade eveu to the extremity of violating army 
•discipline. He exacted the utmost consideration 
for his men, and the officer who periled their safet}', 
or disputed their efficiency, was quickly called to 
account. AVhether against Johnston, Longstreet, or 
Hill, the First Brigade, First Division, was sure of a 
fearless champion in the person of its commander. 

The battle of Sharpsburg was a very bloody 
one. The losses on the Federal side were nearly 
12,500, while the Confederates lost 8000. Lee 
withdrew into Virginia, and McClellan was too 
much demoralized, to follow. Longstreet, in sum- 
ming up the Manassas and Maryland campaign, 
declared that in one month the troops had marched 
over two hundred miles upon little more than half 
rations and fought nine battles and skirmishes. 
They liad " killed, wounded, and captured nearly 
as many men as we had in our ranks, besides tak- 
ino; arms and other munitions of war in laro;e 
(piantities." General Longstreet compliments Brig- 
adier General Toombs for his " gallant defense 
at the bridge of Antietam and his vigorous charge 
upon the enemy's flank ; he \vas severely wounded 
at the close of the engagement." 

General Toombs returned to his home after 
Sharpsburg, and remained several months. He 
rejoined his command near Fredericksburg, but in 
March, 1863, wrote a touching farewell to his bri- 



270 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

gade and resigned Lis commission in the army 
of Nortliern Virginia. It seemed to liim that 
lie did not have jnstice done him at Richmond. 
He aspired, Avith the ambition of a soldier, to 
be promoted in his country's service. Ilis con- 
duct at Sharpsburg, where he wrung admiration 
from his superior officers, appeared to call for 
recognition from the President, but he did not 
receive his major-generalship, and, although more 
than once in the actual command of a division, 
did not secure that title. It is true that he 
would have liked the promotion ; but he did 
not expect it. He had written to his wife that 
he would not be driven from the army until 
after some great battle, ^vhen he should have the 
opportunity of doing something for his country. 
'' The day after such an event, I ^^ill retire if 
I live through it." The battle had occurred, his 
record was written upon the stone bridge of 
Antietam, and his Avoi'k Avas at an end. 

Postmaster-General Reas-an was one of those 
who recognized the merits of General Toombs. 
Twice did he approach President Davis ^vith the 
request that General Toombs be promoted to the 
command of a division. That official replied 
promptly that he did not oppose it himself, but 
that he could not do it without the recommenda- 
tion of the army officers, and that recommendation 
had not been given. Possibly the field officers be- 



IN ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 271 

lievecl the suggestioR would have been ungracious 
to Mr. Davis. General Toombs had not hesitated 
to criticise the policy and appointments of the 
Eichmond administration. That practice had 
strained his relations with the Confederate Gov- 
ernment, but Toombs was a man who "would not 
flatter Neptune for his trident." 

General Toond^s wds not a trained soldier, but 
he liad some fine points of a great commander. 
He was the soul of energy and common sense. 
He was bold, dashing, magnetic. He had the 
quality of infusing his spirit into his men. His 
quick mind seized the points of a campaign, and 
his intellect Avas broad and overmastering. It is 
related of him that one day in Virginia he 
hurried to the rear for a conference with Jefferson 
Davis, to which the President had summoned him, 
npon some point of civil administration. This 
business over, he dashed back to the front, where 
he had an enscao-ement with General Lee over a i )lan 
of attack. General Longstreet said Toombs had 
the kindling eye and rare genius of a soldier, but 
lacked the discipline of a military man. This 
was the serious flaw in his character. lie had 
what General Johnston declared was the great 
drawback about the Southern soldier, "a large 
endowment of the instinct of personal liberty," 
and it was difficult to subordinate his will to 
the needs of military discipline. He had been 



272 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

accustomed to priority, and in ^vliatever com- 
pany, under wliatever conditions he found himself, 
his had been the part to lead and to rule. As 
Colonel Thomas W. Thomas had said of him, 
"Toombs has always been the big frog in the 
pond." Men conceded to him this prestige. 
Under the cast-iron rule of the army he found 
himself subordinated to men intellectually be- 
neath him, but trained and skilled in the art of 
war. He was swift to detect error, and impatient 
in combating blunder. The rule of mediocrity, 
the red tape of the service, the restraints of the 
corps, the tactics of the field galled his imperious 
spirit. He commanded his brigade as he had re- 
presented his State in the Senate — as a sovereign 
and independent body, and like the heroic Helvet- 
ian had blazoned on his crest, "No one shall 
cross me with impunity." 

Robert Toombs made a mistake in sinking him- 
self in the routine of a brigade commander. He 
should have taken the War Department, or, like 
Pitt, have pushed the war from the floor of the 
Senate. Swinton says that Abraham Lincoln 
brought the habits of a politician to military affairs, 
in which their intrusion can only result in confu- 
sion of just relations. There is ineradicable antag- 
onism between the maxims which govern politics 
and those Avhich govern war. 

Durinir General Toombs' absence in the field, 
he opposed tlie Conscript Acts of the Confedei'ate 



m ARMT OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 273 

administration. He believed them arbitrary and 
unjust. He considered that this was a tendency 
toward centralization which ^ the Confederate 
Government was fighting ; that it placed too 
much power in the hands of one man ; that it was 
deadly to States' Kights and personal liberty, and 
that it would impair the efficiency of the army by 
lowering its patriotism. The champion of this 
anti-administration policy in Georgia was Linton 
Stephens, the brother of the vice president. 
Toombs in the field, the elder Stephens in Con- 
gress, and Linton Stephens in the Georgia Legis- 
lature, fought the Conscription and Impressment 
Acts. Hon. Joseph E. Brown, the war Governor 
of Georgia, was also a vigorous opponent of this 
policy. This influence gave rise, in the early part 
of 1864, to the Peace Resolutions of Linton 
Stephens, who sustained Governor Brown in his 
policy, to inaugurate State action for " the preser- 
vation of rights and the attainment of peace." 
Linton Stephens, in a strong letter to General 
Toombs at that time, called attention to the fact 
that since the war began neither side had made 
any eifort to stop the effusion of blood. He be- 
lieved that the professional soldiers and West Point 
generals would never permit the cessation of hostil- 
ities. Such men, he thought, would not, in human 
nature, desire peace. " How can it be explained," 
he wrote, " that both governments have fought on 
during these long years of blood and tears and 



274 BOBERT TOOMBS. 

desolation, witliout either one offering terms of 
peace, and witli botb rnnning a s^vift race of rivalry 
in usurping tlie most despotic power under tlie 
ever-recurring and false plea of necessities of war ? 
Have both governments formed designs that can- 
not be accomplished in peace, and which seek 
opportunity and shelter in the confusion and panic 
of war?" 

Mr. Linton Stephens was a leading lawyer and 
legislator in Georgia. lie was a man of great 
ability. He had started the practice of law in the 
office of Eobert Toombs, and had been a political 
follower and close friend of the great Georgian. 
He had served upon the bench of the Supreme 
Court of his State, and at the close of iha war his 
political influence was probably greater than that 
of any man at home. He was fearless, inflexible, 
high-toned, and full of power. He did not hesitate 
to condemn the legislation asked for by Mr. Davis, 
and joined Mr. Toombs in opposing the appoint- 
ment of General Bragg as supervisor of all military 
operations. Mr. Stephens believed that the next 
step after the Impressment Act ^vould be the 
orfmnization of all labor into a military system 
under government control. 

The result of the policy of Mr. Davis justified 
the protest of the Georgians, but there is nothing 
to warrant the belief that Mr. Davis was moving 
toward military despotism or that he relished the 
continuance of strife. He saw that the South was 



IN ABMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. 275 

in for the war. Desperate situations required 
desperate remedies. He grasped the government 
with a strong; liand, and lacked neither nerve nor 
patriotism. The principles of this policy were 
unsound, but the motives of Jefferson Davis were 
pure. ISTor was there reason to sustain the whole- 
sale denunciation of West Point. That school of 
soldiers was the backbone of the army, and the 
fact that so many Southern men gave up com- 
missions in the United States army and came South 
when their States seceded, overthre^v the idea that 
they were tools of the general government and had 
lost identity or sympathy with people at home. 
But General Toombs was bold and impatient in 
his positions. 

Equally opposed was he to the policy adopted 
in Georgia of recommending the planting of all 
grain and no cotton. From Richmond he wrote 
in March, 1864, directions to his brother Gabriel 
Toombs, ^vho managed his plantations in Wash- 
ington : 

I do not care to change my crops. I wish to raise an 
abundant provision crop and then as mucli cotton as I 
can. . . . Brown's and Chambers' policy is all foolish- 
ness. . . . As to what I shall choose to plant on my own 
estates, I shall neither refer it to newspapers, nor to public 
meetings, nor to legislatures. I know what sort of people 
compose these classes. Let theui take up arms and come 
with me to drive the intruders away from our soil, and then 
we will settle what sort of seed we will put into it. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

WITH THE GEOEGIA MILITIA. 

General Toombs' next appearance in the field 
was as adjutant and inspector-general of General 
G, "W. Smitli's division of Georgia militia. He 
was present during the battles before Atlanta, the 
eno-ao-ement at Peachtree Creek, and the siege of 
the city. General J. E. Johnston had just been 
relieved from command of the Confederate forces, 
and General J. B. Hood placed in charge. General 
Toombs wrote from Atlanta : 

The tone of the army has greatly improved. We are 
now receiving reenforcements from the West. Davis, hav- 
ing kicked Johnston out, now feels obliged to sustain Hood, 
so the country is likely to get good out of evil. General 
Hood is displaying great energy and using his best exer- 
tions for success. I think very well of him. He is a most 
excellent man, and undoubtedly of great military talent. 
Whether equal or not to this great struggle, time must 
prove. 

The militia are coming up finely. Twelve hun- 
dred of them arrived here tliis evening, armed and 
tolerably Avell equipped. Poor fellows ! They are green 
and raw, undisciplined and badly officered. It keeps us at 
work day and night to bring order out of this confused 
mass, and we have but a poor chance. They march right 

875 



WITH THE GEOliGIA MILITIA. 277 

into the trenches, and are immediately under the enemy's 
fire all day. We shall trust to a kind Providence alone to 
preserve them from a great disaster, and make them useful 
to the army and the country. The pressure is so great that 
we are compelled to put them to the work of veterans with- 
out an hour's preparation. I am doing my utmost to get 
them in the best possible position. Georgians are all com- 
ing up well except the cities. 

Speaking of men who try to sliirk duty, Mr. 
Toombs wrote, " Poor creatures ! AVhat do they 
want to live for ? " 

General Toombs had the task of organizing the 
recruits and getting them ready for the field. He 
writes to his wife : " Since I began this letter, the 
Yankees have begun an attack on a part of our 
line and I was obliged to ride with General Hood 
to look after our defenses." General Toombs 
alludes to General E. G. Walthall of Mississippi, 
as " a splendid officer and a gentleman." He says : 
" The enemy are evidently iutending to starve us 
rather than to fight us out. I have, at the request 
of General Hood, not less than twenty letters to 
write on that very subject. Sherman shells tlie 
toAvn furiously eveiy day. Not much damage 
yet." 

It has been customary to speak in light terms of 
the Georgia militia, who, late in the day, took the 
field to man the defenses when Sherman was march- 
ing to the sea. They were frequently made up of 
old men and boys who had been exempt from the 



278 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

regular sendee, and these were hurried into action 
with poor equipment and scant preparation. Gen- 
eral Toombs, in a letter ^vritten to his wife, July 
25, 1864, says: 

The militia have behaved with great gallantry. Tliis is 
sincerely true. They have far exceeded my expectations, 
and in the fight on Thnrsday equaled an}^ ti'oops in the line 
of battle. If they will stand and fight like men, our homes 
will be saved. God give them the spirit of men, and all 
will be well ! 

In another place he writes : 

We have a mixed crowd, a large number of earnest, 
brave, true men ; then all the shirks and skulks in Georgia 
trying to get from under bullets. 

General Toombs commended and endorsed the 
policy of Governor Brown during his six years' 
administration of the office from 1857 to 1863. 
These two men were warm friends and political 
allies. When Governor Brown's third term was 
drawing to a close, he preferred the selection of 
General Toombs as his successor. But Toombs 
declined to make the race. His game now was 
war, not politics. He preferred the field to the 
Cabinet. He writes with considerable feeling this 
letter to his wife : 

Whatever fate may befall me, I feel that this is my place, 
in the field and with the militia, with the men who own the 
country and who are. struggling to preserve it for their 
children. I am truly thankful to God for the health he 
has given me to enable me to perform my part of this work. 



WITH THE GEORGIA MILITIA. 279 

He called all tlie sods of Georgia to come, even 
to " die together rather than let the Yankee over- 
run and conquer Georgia." He concludes a letter 
of appeal : 

Better be 
Where the unconqiicred Spartans still are free, 
In their proud charnel of Thermopylae. 

General Toombs' last military service, after the 
fall of Atlanta, was on the 20th of December, 
1864, when as adjutant and inspector-general he 
served in General G. AY. Smith's division, Georgia 
militia, at the siege of Savannah. General Dick 
Taylor, in his " Destruction and Keconstruction," 
gives a very graphic description of General 
Toombs' energy. The Georgia militia had left 
Macon for Savannah, and to avoid capture by the 
resistless column of Sherman's army, then march- 
ing to the sea, was shipped by way of Thomas- 
ville. The trains were sometimes slow in moving, 
and to General Taylor, who was anxious to mass 
all forces at Savannah, the delay was galling. 
Wlien Toombs came up, he " damned the dawdling 
trainmen, and pretty soon infused his own nerv- 
ous force into the whole concern. The wheezing 
engines and freight vans were readily put in mo- 
tion, and Governor Brown's ' army ' started to- 
ward Savannah." News reached General Taylor 
about that time that the Federal forces at Port 
Royal were coming up to capture Pocotaligo on 



280 ROBERT TOOMBS, 

the Charleston and Savannah road. This was a 
dangerous move, as General Taylor was anxious 
to hold this line for coast defense. He needed 
reenforcements to hold this point, and at once 
thought of " Joe Brown's Army." The position 
of Governor Bro^vn was, however, as General 
Taylor understood it, that Georgia troops were to 
be held to guard Georgia soil. This was one of 
the points in his discussion Avith Mr. Davis. Gen- 
eral Taylor consulted mth General Toombs, how- 
ever, and they arranged to have the Georgia 
militia " shunted off at a switch near Savannah 
and transported quietly to Carolina." At Pocotal- 
igo these troops had a lively brush with the 
Union forces and succeeded in holding the rail- 
road. The Georgians were plucky whether at 
home or abroad, but General Taylor declared that 
Toombs enjoyed his part in making them " uncon- 
scious patriots." 

Sherman's march to the sea was the concluding 
tragedy of the Civil War. The State which had 
been at the forefront of the revolution had be- 
come the bloody theater of battle. From the 
Tennessee Ri^'er to Atlanta, Sherman and Johns- 
ton had g]*appled with deadly fury down the 
mountain defiles; then Cheatham and Wheeler 
harassed him at Macon and imited for a final 
siege of Savannah. The granaries and workshops 
of the Confederacy were gone when Georgia ^^as 



WITH THE GEORGIA MILITIA. 281 

devastated — as General Lord AVolseley said, Sher- 
man's invasion was a swordthrnst tlirouo-li tlie 
vitals of the young nation. Eobert Toombs had 
followed his own idea of meetino; the invader 
as soon as he struck an inch of State soil and 
tia-htino; him as lono; as a man remained. From 
the fruitless defense of Savannah, Toombs hast- 
ened to -discuss the situation with Governor 
Brown. He happened to be dining ^^ith him 
that April day when the news came of the surren- 
der at Appomattox. The two men looked at 
each other intently, when they realized that all 
was over. 

Toombs and Brown had been closely allied 
since the day that the latter was nominated for 
Governor in 1857. They had fought campaigns 
together. Toombs had sustained Governor 
Brown's war policy almost to the letter. Xow 
they shook hands and parted. Henceforth their 
paths diverged. Days of bitterness put that 
friendship to an end. Both men worked his 
course durins; reconstruction as he saw fit. But 
political differences deepened almost into personal 
feud. 

General Toombs repaired to his home in Wash- 
ington and, on the 4th of May, 1865, Jefferson 
Davis, his Cabinet and staff, having retreated from 
Bichmond to Danville, thence to Greensboro, N. C., 
and Abbeville, S. C, rode across the country with 



282 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

au armed escort to Wasliingtou, Ga. Here, in the 
old Heard House, the last meeting of the Confeder- 
ate Cabinet was held. The members separated, 
and the civil government of the Southern Con- 
federacy passed into history. There were present 
John C. Breckenridge, Secretary of AVar ; John 
H. Eeagan, Postmaster-General, besides the mem- 
bers of Mr. Davis' staff. The Confederate Presi- 
dent was worn and jaded. He looked pale and 
thin, but was plucky to the last. After the sur- 
render of Lee and Johnston, he wanted to keep up 
the warfare in the mountains of Vhginia, and in 
the country west of the Mississippi, but he was 
finally persuaded that the Confederacy must cease 
to struggle. On the public square of Washington 
the little brick house, with its iron rail and its red 
walls, is still pointed out to the visitor as the spot 
wliere the Davis government dissolved. It was a 
dramatic fate which determined its dissolution at 
the home of Robert Toombs. He had been present 
at its birth. His had been one of the leading 
spirits of the revolution. He had served it in the 
'Cabinet and field, he had been pressed for the posi- 
tion of its chief magistracy, and now in the shadow 
of his own rooftree its concluding council was 
held. General Reagan was a guest of General 
Toombs during his stay in AVashington, as was 
General St. John and IMajor Raphael J. Moses, 
who had been a member of Toombs' staff. In 



WIT3 THE GEORGIA MILlTlA. 283 

the evening General Toombs called General Reagan 
into a room by himself and inquired whether the 
latter needed any money. General Reagan said 
he had money enough to take him to Texas. Then 
General Toombs inquired after Mr. Davis, and 
asked whether he had any money. " I told him 
no," says General Reagan, "but that I had 
money enough to " take us both West of 
of the Mississippi, and had told Mr. Davis 
so. I had no doubt but that he w^ould rely on 
that." General Toombs tlien asked if Mr. Davis 
was well mounted. " I told him yes, that he had 
his bay horse Kentucky, and that after the sur- 
render General Lee had sent his" fine gray Trav- 
eler, by his son Robert, around through Lyncld^urg 
to Mr. Davis at Greenesboro, N. C." " Well," said 
General Toombs, with tlioughtfuhiess, " Davis and 
I had a quarrel once, ])ut that is over now. I am 
at home and can command money and men, and if 
Mr. Davis wants anytliing, I shall be glad to fur- 
nish it." General Toombs added that under terms 
of the convention betw^een Sherman and Johnston, 
Mr. Davis was entitled to go where he pleased 
between that point and the Chattalioocliee River. 
" I wish you would say to Mr. Davis," said Toombs, 
in his bluff way, " that, if necessary, I will call my 
men around me and see him safe to the Chatta- 
hoochee at the risk of my life." 

On his return to the hotel Mr. Reagan gave 



284 ROBERT TOOMRS. 

General Toombs' message to Mr. Davis, and told 
tlie latter of the inquiries and offers. "Tliat is 
like Toombs," said Mr. Davis. " He was always 
a whole-souled man." 

The four men whom the AYashington govern- 
ment wanted to arrest and hold responsible for 
the war were Toombs, Davis, Slidell, and Howell 
Cobb. Theii' friends understood this perfectly, 
and each man was urged to make his escape. 
Jefferson Davis was arrested in Irwin County, 
Ga., on May 10. He was rapidly making his 
way to the AVest, and was trying to reach Texas. 
How General Toombs finally escaped must be re- 
served for a more extended recital. 

General Toombs and Mr. Davis never met but 
once after the war. It was unexpected, dramatic. 
Some years after General Toombs liad returned 
from his long exile, and Mr. Davis was just 
back from his trip to England, the ex-presi- 
dent visited Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, the 
guest of the poet Sidney Lanier. He here ap- 
peared at his best in the company of sympa- 
thetic and admiring friends, and charmed every- 
one by his polish and learning. The day before 
Jefferson Davis left. General and Mrs. Toombs ar- 
rived at the mountain. Mr. Davis was, at that 
time, absent on a horseback ti'ip. He was fond of 
riding, and had gone over to see some of the fine 
views of the mountain and to inspect the fields 



WITH THE GEORGIA MILITIA. 285 

wliere receut battles liad raged witli so mucli fury. 
The liotel was kept by a Northern man wlio knew 
nothiutT- of tlie rekitions between Mr. Davis and 
General Toombs, and lie believed the thing to do 
was to put General and Mrs. Toombs in a vacant 
room of the cottage occupied by Mr. Davis. It 
was a small house, \\-ith a piazza extending along 
the front. It so happened that the Toombses, who 
had just learned of Mr. Davis' presence at the 
hotel, were sitting on the piazza chatting with 
friends when Mr. Davis came up. Mr. Davis had 
also heard of General Toombs' arrival at the hotel, 
but neither knew that the other was domiciled in the 
same cottage. To General Toombs the appearance 
was as if Mr. Davis had come at once to make a 
cordial call. No one could be more hospitable 
and polite than Toombs, and this apparent chal- 
lenge to friendship brought out the best side of 
his nature. The men met with considerable 
warmth. From General Toombs Mr. Davis ad- 
vanced to Mrs. Toombs. Between these two the 
meeting was profoundly affecting. He embraced 
her tenderly. Toombs and Davis had been friends 
and neighbors years ago in AVashington City, and 
Mr. Davis had been extremely fond of Mr. 
Toombs' family. The distinguished party soon 
fell into friendly conversation. Next day Mr. 
Davis left Lookout Mountain. He never met 
Robert Toombs again. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 

At the conclusion of the war, Secretary Stanton 
issued specific orders for the arrest of Jefferson 
Davis, Alexander H. Stephens, and Robert Toombs. 
Mr. Stephens was arrested quietly at his own 
home in Crawfordville on the 12th of May, 1865, 
two days after Mr. Davis had been overtaken. 
On the same day a squad of soldiers, most of them 
negroes, reached Washington, Ga. They ^vere 
commanded by General Wilde, and their orders 
were to take General Toombs in charge. One of 
the colored troops marched up town with the 
photograph of Toombs, which they had procured 
to identify him, impaled upon his bayonet. Gen- 
eral Toombs was, at the time, in his jn-ivate office 
at his residence. Ilearing the noise in his yard, 
he walked out of his basement to the corner of his 
front steps. There he perceived the squad and 
divined their purpose. " By God, the bluecoats ! " 
was all he said. Walking quickly through his 
back lot, he strode across his plantation and dis- 
appeared. By this time the guard was clamoring 
at the front door, and Mrs. Toombs went out to 
meet them. "Where is General Toombs?" the 

386 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 287 

commander asked. "lie is not Lere," tlie lady 
answered firmly. A parley ensued, during wliieli 
Mrs. Toombs managed to detain the men long 
enougli to enable Ler husband to get out of sight. 
" Unless General Toombs is produced, I shall burn 
the house," retorted the officer. Mrs. Toombs 
blanched a little at this, but, biting her lip, she 
turned on her heel, aud coolly replied : " Very well, 
burn it." Among the listeners to this colloquy 
was a young man just returned from the Con- 
federate army. He was moved with indignation. 
He still wore the gray jacket, and was deeply anx- 
ious for the Toombs family. He had been a 
neighljor to them all his life, as had his father 
before him, and he shared the pride ^vhich the 
villa<'-e felt for its most distin^-uished resident. 

He was the son of Hon. I. T. Irvin, a prominent 
pul^lic man and lifelong frieml of General Toombs. 
Preparations were made for the threatened fire. 
General Toombs did not come out. Furniture 
was moved and papers destroyed, but the young 
Confederate Avas soon convinced that the threat 
was a mere bluft*. Relieved on that point, his 
loyal spirit yearned toward the fugitive. Charles 
E. Irvin was the name of the young man, and he 
had seen service in the artillery under Longstreet. 
Not yet twenty-one years of age, he was fired with 
ardor and devotion, and had already resolved to 
aid General Toombs in escaping. 



288 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Riding over to a neigbor's house, Mr. J. T. 
Wingiield, lie failed to find his friend, but left 
word for General Toombs to let him know where to 
meet him with his horses. That night about two 
o'clock Lieutenant Irvin got word from General 
Toombs to bring his horse to Nick Chenault's by 
seven o'clock in the morning. This was a farm 
about eighteen miles from Washington, near the 
Broad River. Here General Toombs mounted his 
trusted horse and felt at home. It ^vas the famous 
mare Gray Alice, which had carried him through 
all his campaigns. He had ridden her during the 
charo-es at Antietam, and she had borne him from 
the fire of the scouts the nio;ht he had received his 
wound. Once more he pressed her into service, 
and Robert Toombs, for the first time in his life, 
was a fugitive. This man, who commanded men 
and had gained his o^vn way by sheer brain and 
combativeness, fied by stealth from a dreaded 
enemy. It was a new role for Toombs. His plucky 
young guide was resolved to accompany him in his 
fliofht — it misfht be to his death ; it was all the 
same to Lieutenant Irvin. Riding swiftly into 
Elbert County, the two men crossed over to Har- 
rison Landing, a picturesque spot on the Savannah 
River. Here dwelt an old man, Alexander LeSeur, 
who led something of a hermit's life. Before the 
war he had been a " Know^-nothing," and had been 
exposed to Toombs' withering fire upon that class 




a oo 

> 3 



? M 



K O 
■s; g 




TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 289 

of politicians. LeSeiir met tlie fugitive with a 
laiigli aud a friendly oath. "You have been 
fighting me for forty years/' he said, "and now 
that you are in trouble, I am the first man you 
seek for protection." 

General Toombs had not traveled too fast. The 
country was swarming with raiders. Ne^^'s of the 
captui'e of Davis and Stephens had fired these 
men with desire to overhaul the great champion 
of secession. A Federal major, commanding a 
force of men, put up at Tate's residence, just op- 
posite the hermit's island. While there, a negro 
from the LeSeur place informed the ofiicer that 
some prominent man was at the house. " If it 
ain't Jeff Davis, it is just as big a man," said he. 
The hint was taken. The island was suiTounded 
aud carefully ^vatched, but when the party went 
over to captm*e Toombs, the game was gone. 

General Toombs now started out carefully up 
the Savannah lliver. In Elbert, he Avas in the 
hands of his friends. This county, which had 
first encouraged the struggles of the young law. 
yer, which had follow^ed him steadfastly in his 
political fortunes, which had furnished soldiers 
for his brigade, now supplied protectors at eveiy 
step. Before leaving this county he was initiated 
into a Masonic lodge, and took the first degrees of 
the order. More than once the signs and symbols 
of the mystic brotherhood stood him in good stead 



290 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

on tliis eventful trip. Pie ^vas afterward a high 
Mason, and remained to his death a devoted 
friend of the order. 

Continuing liis journey alone he stopped at 
the Tugaloo River in Habersham County, and re- 
mained at the house of Colonel Prather until Lieu- 
tenant Irvin, whom he had sent back to Wash- 
ington with letters, could rejoin him with funds 
and clothing. Here his young companion soon 
found him, bringing, besides letters from home, 
some astonishing news. 

"General," said Lieutenant Irvin, "what do 
you think? Your friend General Joseph E. 
Brown has sold out the State of Georgia, and 
^- gone over to the Republican party." 

Toombs glared at him savagely. 
/ "For the first time on this trip," says Lieuten- 
ant Irvin, " he looked like he wanted to kill me. 
He brought his fist down heavily upon the table 
and said : ' By God, I don't believe it ! ' 

" ' AYell here it is in black and white.' " 

Lieutenant Irvin gave him the paper in which 
\ was printed Governor Brown's famous address to 
' the people of Georgia. ^~~ T 

" This news," said Lieutenant Irvin, " absolutely 
sent the old man to bed." 

Toombs remained a week at Colonel Prather's, 
and in the meantime sent Lieutenant Irvin to 
Savannah with important letters. He desired to 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 291 

escape, if possible, tlirougli tlie port of Savannah. 
The Savannah friends were not at home, how- 
ever, and Lieutenant Irvin, bearing these import- 
ant letters, actually fell into the hands of the 
enemy. 

He was a high-atrung, plucky young fellow, and 
was reproved by a Federal officer for continuing 
to wear brass buttons. Irvin retorted sharply, and 
was hurried into prison. Fearing that he would 
be searched and his papers found, he slipped them 
to a friend, undetected by the guard. After re- 
maining in prison for several hours, Lieutenant L'- 
vin was released and censured by the officer, who 
reminded him that there were bayonets about him. 

" Yes," retorted young Irvin, " and brave men 
ahvays avail themselves of such advantages." 

Trudmnfj; back from Savannah, Lieutenant Ir- 
vin found General Toombs at the Rembert place, 
near Tallalah Falls. This was a beautiful home 
in a wild, picturesque country, where Toombs ^vas 
less lia])le to capture than in middle Georgia, 
and where he was less kno^vn to the people. Gen- 
eral Toombs had already procured the parole 
papers of Major Luther Martin, of Elbert County, 
a friend and member of his former command. He 
traveled under that name, and was so addressed 
by his young companion all along the route. Gen- 
eral Toombs passed the time deer-hunting in Hab- 
ersham. He had the steady hand and fine eye of 



292 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

a sportsman, and lie was noted for liis liorseman- 
ship and endurance. 

Returning toward AVasliington tlirougli Elbert 
County, General Toombs decided to spend a niglit 
with Major Martin. Lieutenant Irvin stoutly op- 
posed this and warned him that if the enemy were 
to look for him anywhere, it would certainly be 
at Martin's house. Turning down the road, he 
finally concluded to put up at the house of Colonel 
W. H. Mattox. It Avas well he did. That night 
a party of thirty soldiers raided the Martin planta- 
tion on a hot ti-ail, and searched thoroughly for 
Toombs. 

During his travels General Toombs did not wear 
a disguise of any sort. Dressed in a checked suit, 
and riding his gray mare, he was a prominent ob- 
ject, and to most of the people was well known. 
One day he wore green goggles, but soon threw 
them away in disgust. The nearness of troops 
forced General Toombs to abandon his plan of 
going home for his family before leaving the coun- 
try. He dispatched Lieutenant Irvin to Wash- 
ington with letters to his wife, telling her that he 
would not see her again until he had gone abroad, 
when he would send for her to join him. He him- 
self passed through Ceutreville, twelve miles from 
his home, and directed his young guide where to 
meet him in middle Georgia. This Lieutenant 
Irvin found it very hard to do. General Toombs 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 293 

was veiy discreet as to whom lie took into Lis 
confidence. Once or twice be cautioned Lis 
companion against certain parties, to tLe surprise 
of tLe young man. Toombs, Lowever, read Luman 
nature pretty well, and, later, wLen tLe real cLar- 
acter of tLese persons developed, Irvin understood 
tLe counsels of Lis older friend. So carefully did 
General Toombs cover Lis tracks tLat Lieutenant 
Irvin, after Lis detour to WasLino^ton, was a lone; 
time in overtaking Lim. Traveling straigLt to 
Sparta, Lieutenant Irvin called on Judge Linton 
StepLens and asked about tLe general. TLis 
sLrewd Georgian came to tLe door and flatly de- 
nied knowing anytLing about Toombs. 

"He questioned me closely," said Lieutenant 
Irvin, " and finding tLat I was really wLo I pre- 
tended to be, finally agreed to take me to Toombs. 
Riding down to Old-Town, in Jefferson County, 
Ave failed to find Toombs, but receiving a clew tLat 
Le Lad passed tLrougL tLe David Dickson planta- 
tion in Hancock County, I accosted Mr. WortLen, 
tLe manager. ' Has an old man riding a gray Lorse 
passed tLis way,' WortLen was asked. He 
promptly answered, ' No.' Believing tLat Le was 
deceiving me, I questioned Lim more closely." 

WortLen tried to persuade tLe young man to 
get down and take some plums. He was evidently 
anxious to detain Lim. Finally Le eyed tLe stranger 
more closely, and, convinced tLat Le was tLe com- 



294 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

panion wliom Toombs exj^ected, lie confessed tliat 
General Toombs liad been at his place and was 
then at the home of Major Gonder in Washing- 
ton County. 

Lieutenant Irvin had ridden over two hundred 
miles in this search and lost two or three days out 
of his way. Toombs covered his trail so care- 
full}'- that it was difficult even for his friends to 
find him. Small wonder that he was not captured 
by the enemy. 

Lieutenant Irvin was not yet "out of the 
woods." Reaching the home of Major Gonder 
late in the evening, he rode up to the front fence, 
fifty yards from the dwelling. Mrs. Gonder and her 
daughter were sitting on the piazza. Lieutenant 
Irvin asked the usual question about the old 
man and the gray horse. The lady replied that 
she knew nothing about them. 

Lieutenant Irvin said : " But I was directed to 
this place." 

Mrs. Gonder : " I should like to know who sent 
you." 

Lieutenant Irvin: "But has no one passed or 
stopped here, answering my description ? " 

Both ladies were now considerably worked up ; 
the younger scarcely suppressed her amuse- 
ment. 

"Come, ladies," said Lieutenant Irvin, "I see 
you both know more than jow will confess." 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 295 

"If I do, I will die before I tell it," naively 
replied the elder. 

" Now I know you know wliere General Toombs 
is." 

" Then get it out of me if you can." 

Finally the young man persuaded her that he 
was the friend of Toombs, and Mrs. Gonder re- 
luctantly directed him to Colonel Jack Smith's 
over on the Oconee River. 

Riding up to Colonel Smith's, his valiant pur- 
suer spied General Toombs through the window. 
The head of the house, however, denied that 
Toombs was there at all. 

"But that looks very much like him through 
the window " said Lieutenant Irvin. 

" Youus: man " retorted Colonel Smith, " what 
is your name ? " 

Of course this disclosure led to the reunion of 
the fui^itive and his friend. 

Toombs realized that he was in almost as much 
danger from his own friends as from the enemy. 
He was careful to whom he disclosed his identity 
or his plans, for fear that they might indiscreetly 
comment on his presence or embarass him even by 
their willingness to befriend him. So it was that 
he proceeded secretly, picking his way by stealth, 
and actually doing much of his travel by night. 

At the home of Colonel Jack Smith, the two 
men remained a week to rest their horses and take 



296 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

tlieii' bearings. General Toombs spent miicli 
time on the Oconee trolling for trout, ^vllile bodies 
of Union cavaliy were watcliing tLe ferries 
and guarding the fords, seining for bigger iish. 

Passing into AVilkinson County, General 
Toombs stopped at the home of Mr. Joseph Deas. 
When Lieutenant Irvin asked if the pair could 
come in, Deas replied, "Yes, if you can put up 
with the fare of a man who subsists in Sherman's 
track." 

A maiden sister of Deas lived in the house. 
With a woman's sensitive ear, she recognized Gen- 
eral Toombs' voice, having heard him sj^eak at 
Toombsboro seventeen years before. This discov- 
ery, she did not communicate to her brother until 
after the guests had retired. Deas had been dis- 
cussing politics with Toombs, and his sister asked 
him if he knew to whom he had been talkins; all 
night ? Deas said he did not. 

" Joe Deas," she said, " are you a fool ? Don't 
you know that is General Toombs ? " 

Strange to say, a negro on the place, just as 
they were leaving, cried out " Good-])y, Marse 
Bob." He had driven the family to the speaking 
seventeen years before, and had not forgotten the 
man who defended slavery on that day. 

" Good Lord ! " said Toombs, " go give that 
negro some money." 

This same negro had been strung up by the 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 297 

thumbs by Slierman's troops a few montlis before 
because lie would uot tell where his master's 
mules were hiddeu. He piloted General Toombs 
through the woods to the home of Colonel David 
Hughes, a prominent and wealthy farmer of 
Twiggs County. Colonel Hughes had been in 
Toombs' brigade, and the general remained with 
him a week. 

General Toombs was sitting on the piazza of 
Colonel Hughes's house one afternoon wdien an 
old soldier asked permission to come in. He still 
wore the gray, and was scarred and begrimed. 
He eyed General Toombs very closely, and seemed 
to hang upon his words. He heard him ad- 
dressed as Major Martin, and finally, when he 
arose to leave, wrung the general's hand. 

"Major Martin," he said, brushing the tears 
from his eyes, " I'm mighty glad to see you. I 
wish to God I could do something for you." 

At the izate he turned to Colonel Hu^-hes and 
said : " I know who that is. It is General 
Toombs. You can't fool me." 

" Why do you think so ?" Colonel Hughes asked. 

"Oh, I remember Gray Alice jumping the stone 
walls at Sharpsburg too well to forget the rider 
now." 

" Colonel," he continued, " this morning a man 
near here, who is a Repuldican and an enemy of 
General Toombs, thought he recognized him near 



298 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

your house. He saw him t^vo hundred yards 
away. I heard him say he believed it was Toombs 
and he wished he had his head shot off. I came 
here to-night to see for myself. You tell General 
Toombs that if he says the word, I will kill that 
scoundrel as sure as guns," 

The veteran was persuaded, however, to keej) 
quiet and do nothing of the sort. 

It was at this time that Lieutenant Irvin found 
that the ferries of the Ocmulwe River were 
guarded from one end to the other. Near this 
place Davis had been captured and the Union 
troops w^ere on a sharp lookout for Toombs. Con- 
vinced that further travel mio-ht be hazardous. 
General Toombs and his friend rode back to the 
mountains of North Georgia, and there remained 
until the early fall. It was in the month of Octo- 
ber that the fusritives a2:ain started on their check- 
ered flight. The May days had melted into 
summer, and summer had been succeeded by early 
autumn. The crops, planted when he started from 
home that spring day, were now ripening in the 
fields, and Northern statesmen were still declaring 
that Toombs was the arch-traitor, and must be ap- 
prehended. Davis was in irons, and Stephens lan- 
guished in a dungeon at Fortress Monroe. 

Passing once more near Sparta, Ga., Toombs 
met, by appointment, his friends, Linton Stej^hens, 
K. M. Johnson, AV. W. Simpson, Jack Lane, Edge 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 299 

Bird, and other kindred spirits. It was a royal re- 
union, a sort of Lucretia Borgia feast for Toombs 
^" eat and drink to-day, for to-morrow we may 
die." 

Traveling tlieir old road througli Washington 
County, they crossed the Ocmulgee, this time in 
safety, and passed into Houston County. The 
Federals believed Tombs already abroad and had 
ceased to look for him in Georgia. After the pass- 
asce was made General Toombs said : " Charlie, 
that ferryman eyed me very closely. Go back and 
give him some money." 

Lieutenant Irvin did return. Tne ferryman 
refused any gift. He said : " I did not want to 
take what you did give me." Irvin asked the 
reason. The ferryman said: "Tell General 
Toombs I wish to God I could do something 
for him." 

General Toombs had a wide personal acquaint- 
ance in Georgia. He seldom stopped at a house 
whose inmates he did not know, and whose rela- 
tives and connections he could not trace for genera- 
tions. Sometimes, when incognito, the two men 
were asked where General Toombs Avas. They 
answered, " Cuba." 

At Oglethorpe, in Macon County, General 
Toombs rode riii-ht throuo-h a g-arrison of Fed- 
eral soldiers. As one of his regiments came from 
this section, General Toombs was afraid that some 



800 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

of liis old soldiers miglit recognize him on the 
road. A Federal officer advanced to the middle 
of the street and saluted the travelers. Their 
hearts bounded to their throats, and, instinctively, 
two hands stole to their revolvers. Pistols and 
spurs were the only resources. Chances were des- 
perate, but they were resolved to take them. The 
officer watched them intently as they rode leisurely 
through the town, but he was really more inter- 
ested in their fine horses, ''Gray Alice" and 
" Young Alice," than in the men. Jogging un- 
concernedly along until the to^^Tl was hidden by 
a hill, General Toombs urged his horse into a run, 
and left " his friends, the enemy," far in the rear. 
It was a close call, but he did not breathe freely 
yet. There was possibility of pursuit, and when 
the party reached the residence of a Mr. Brown, a 
messeuo^er was sent back to the to^vn to mislead 
the soldiers should pursuit be attempted. From 
the hands of the enemy, General Toombs and his 
friend were now inducted into pleasanter scenes. 
The house was decorated with lilies and orange 
blossoms. A wedding was on hand, and the bride 
happened to be the daughter of the host. Brown 
was a brave and determined man. He assured 
General Toombs that when the wedding guests 
assembled, there would be men enough on hand, 
should an attack be made, to rout the United 
States garrison, horse, foot, and dragoons. At 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 301 

Dr. Kaiues' place, on tlie Chattahoochee Eiver, a 
horse drover happened to say something about 
Toombs. He gave the statesman a round of 
abuse and added : " And yet, they tell me that 
if I were to meet General Toombs and say what I 
think of him, I ^vould either have a fight or he 
would convince me that he was the biggest man 
in the world." 

Tired of the long horseback ride, having been 
nearly six months in the saddle, the men now 
secured an ambulance from Toombs' plantation 
in Stewart County, and crossed the river into 
Alabama. His faithful mare, ^^•llicll he was forced 
to leave behind, neighed pathetically as her mas- 
ter rode away in a boat and pulled for the Ala- 
bama shore. At Evergreen they took the train, 
and it seemed that half the men on the cars 
recognized General Toombs. General Joseph 
Wheeler, Avho was on board, did not take his eyes 
off him. Toombs became nervous under these 
searching glances, and managed to hide his face 
behind a paper which he was reading. At Tensas 
Station he took the boat for Mobile. There was 
a force of Federal soldiers on board, and this was 
the closest quarters of his long journey. There 
was now no chance of escaj^e, if detected. The 
soldiers frequently spoke to General Toombs, but 
he was not in the slightest way molested. 

At Mobile General Toombs took his saddle- 



302 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

bags and repaired to tlie home of his friend Mr. 
Evans, about four miles from the city. There 
he was placed in the care of Howard Evans and 
his sister, Miss Augusta J. Evans, the gifted South- 
ern authoress. Anxious to conceal the identity 
of their guest, these hospitable young people 
dismissed their servants, and Miss Evans her- 
self cooked and served General Toombs' meals 
^vith her own hands. She declared, with true 
hospitality, that she felt it a privilege to contrib- 
ute to the comfort and insure the safety of the 
brilliant statesman. She was a Georgian herself, 
and with her this was a labor of love. 

These were among the most agreeable moments 
of General Toombs' long exile. He loved the 
companionship of intellectual ^vomen, and the con- 
versation during these days was full of brilliant 
interest. Miss Evans was a charming talker, as 
bright as a jewel, and Toombs was a Chesterfield 
mth ladies. The general "would walk to and fro 
along the shaded walks and pour forth, in his 
matchless Avay, the secret history of the ruin of 
Confederate hopes. 

General Toombs wrote home, in courtly enthu- 
siasm, of his visit to Mobile. Mn Stephens sent 
Miss Evans a warm letter of thanks for her atten- 
tions to his friend. " I have," said he, " just re- 
ceived a letter from General Toombs, who has 
been so united with me in friendship and destiny 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 3Q3 

all our lives, giving sucli account of tlie kind at- 
tentions lie received from you and your father 
while in Mobile, that I cannot forbear to thank 
you and him for it in the same strain and terms 
as if these attentions had been rendered to myself. 
What you did for my friend, in this particular, 
you did for me." 

AVliile General Toombs was in Mobile, General 
Wheeler called upon the Evans family and re- 
marked that he thou^'ht he had seen General 
Toombs on the train. Miss Evans replied that 
she had heard General Toombs was in Cuba. 

Lieutenant Irvin went to New Orleans and 
secured from the Spanish Consul a pass to Cuba 
for " Major Luther Martin." At Mobile General 
Toombs took the boat Creole for New Orleans. 
He seemed to be nearing the end of his long journey, 
but it was on this boat that the dramatic incident 
occurred which threatened to change the course of 
his wanderings at last. AVhile General Toombs 
was at supper, he became conscious that one of the 
passengers was eying him closely. He said to 
Lieutenant Irvin : " Charlie, don't look up now, 
but there is a man in the doorway who evidently 
recognizes me." 

" General, probably it is someone who thinks he 
knows you." 

" No," replied Toombs quietly, " that man is a 
sp}'.-' 



304 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Lieutenant Irvin asked what should be done. 
General Tooiubs told him to go out and question 
the man and, if convinced that he was a spy, to 
throw him over the stern-rail of the steamer. 
Lieutenant Irvin got up. and went on deck. The 
stranscer followed him. Irvin walked toward the 
rail. The strano;er asked him where he was from. 
He answered " North Carolina.'" 

" Who is that with you ? " he questioned. 

"My uncle. Major Martin," said Irvin. 

The man then remarked that it looked very 
much like Kobert Toombs. Irvin answered that 
the likeness had been noted before, but that he 
could not see it. 

" Young man," said the stranger, " I don't want 
to dispute your word, but that is certainly Toombs. 
I know him w^ell, and am his friend." 

Irvin then gave up the idea of throwing him 
overboard. Had the brave young officer not 
been convinced that the party questioning him 
was Colonel M. C. Fulton, a prominent resident of 
Georgia, he says he would certainly have pitched 
him into the Gulf of Mexico. 

General Toombs, when informed of the identity 
of Colonel Fulton, sent for him to come to his 
room, and the two men had a long and friendly 
conversation. 

Arriving at New Orleans General Toombs drove 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 305 

up to tLe residence of Colonel Marshal J. Smith. 
On the 4th of November, 1865, he boarded the 
steamship Alahama, the first of the Morgan line 
put on after the war between New Orleans, 
Havana, and Liverpool. A tremendous crowd 
had gathered at the dock to see the steamer off, 
and Lieutenant Irvin tried to persuade General 
Toombs to go below until the ship cleared. But 
the buoyant Georgian persisted in walking the 
deck, and was actually recognized by General 
Humphrey Marshall of Texas, who had known 
him in the Senate before the ^var. 

" No," said Toombs to his companion's expostu- 
lations, " I want fresh air, and I will die right here. 
I am impatient to get into neutral watere, when I 
can talk. I have not had a square, honest talk in 
six months." 

By the time the good ship had cleared the 
harbor, everybody on board knew that .Robert 
Toombs, " the fire-eater and rebel," was a passenger, 
and hundreds gathered around to listen to his 
matchless conversation. 

Lieutenant Irvin never saw General Toombs 
again until 1868. He himself was an officer of 
the L'vin artilleiy, Cutts' battalion, being a part 
of Walker's artillery in Lougstreet's corps. Enter- 
ing the army at seventeen years of age, Charles E. 
Irvin was a veteran at twenty-one. He was brave, 



30G ROBERT TOOMBS. 

alert, tender, and true. He recalls that Avhen liis 
company joined the anny in Richmond, Robert 
Toombs, then Secretary of State, gave them a 
handsome supper at the Exchange Hotel. " I 
remember," said he, " with infinite satisfaction, 
that duruig the seven months I accompanied 
General Toombs, in the closest relations and 
under the most trjdng positions, he was never 
once impatient mth me." Frequently, on this 
long and perilous journey, Toombs would say ; 
" Well, my boy ! suppose the Yankees find us 
to-day ; what will you do ? " " General, you say 
you won't be taken alive. I reckon they will 
have to kill me too." 

General Toombs often declared that he would 
not be captured. Imprisonment, trial, and exile, 
he did not dread ; but to be carried about, a prize 
captive and a curiosity through Northern cities, 
was his constant fear. He was prepared to sell 
his life dearly, and there is no doubt but that he 
would have done so. 

During all these trying days, Toombs rode with 
the grace and gayety of a cavalier. He talked 
incessantly to his young companion, who eagerly 
drank in his words. He fous^ht his battles over 
again and discussed the leaders of the Civil War in 
his racy style. He constantly predicted the col- 
lapse of the greenback system of currency, and 



TOOMBS AS A FUGITIVE. 307 

speculated facetiously each day upon the chauces 
of capture. He calculated shrewdly enough his 
routes and plans, and when he found himself on 
terra flrnia, it was under the soft skies of the 
Antilles with a foreign flag above him. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

WraiOUT A COUNTRY. 

From Cuba General Toombs proceeded to Paris. 
It was early in July before lie reached his new 
stopping place. He found himself somewhat 
restricted in funds, as he had not had time to 
turn his property into gold to make his trip 
abroad. It is related that just after the departure 
of the famous " specie train," through Washington 
in the wake of Mr. Davis' party, a Confederate 
horseman dashed by the residence of General 
Toombs and threw a bag of bullion over the fence. 
It was found to contain five thousand dollars, but 
Toombs swore he would not even borrow this 
amount from his government. He turned it over 
to the authorities for the use of disabled Con- 
federate soldiers, and hurriedly scraped up what 
funds he could command in case he should be 
compelled to fly. Arriving in Paris, General 
Toombs succeeded in selling one of his planta- 
tions, realizing about five dollars an acre for it. 
He used to explain to the astounded Frenchmen, 
during his residence abroad, that he ate an acre of 
dirt a day. 

308 



WITHOUT A COUNTRY. 309 

General Toombs repaired tQ Engliien, where lie 
took a course of siilpliiir baths for the benefit of 
his throat. Constant exposure with the army and 
in his flight had brought on his old enemy, the 
asthma. He had been a healthy man, having long 
passed the limit of manhood before he tasted 
medicine. Late in life, an attack of scarlet fever 
left his throat in a delicate condition. 

Mrs. Toombs Joined him in Paris in July, 1865, 
and he passed eighteen months quietly with her in 
Europe. It was in marked contrast to his tour in 
1855, when, as United States Senator, he had gone 
from place to place, observed, lionored, and courted. 
He was now an exile without a country. He had 
seen his political dreams wiped out in blood and 
his home in the hands of the enemy. From the 
dignity and power of a United States Senator 
and a possible aspirant to the Presidency, he 
had been branded as a conspirator, and forced, 
like MJrabeau, to seek shelter in distant 
lands. 

France wm, at that time, in a state of unrest. 
Louis Napoleon was watching with anxiety the 
eagles of Prussia liovering over the German Con- 
federation. Austria had ah'eady succumbed to 
Prussian power, and Napoleon had been blocked 
in his scheme to secure, from this disorder, his 
share of the Rhenish provinces. Toombs, who had 
fled from a restored Union in America, now 



310 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

watched tlie rnarcli of consolidation in Europe, and 
predicted its final success. 

General Toombs was an object of interest in 
Europe. His position toward the American gov- 
ernment prevented his public recognition by the 
rulers, but he used to relate with zest his interviews 
Avith Carlyle, the Empress Eugenie, and other not- 
ables. He was a man to attract attention, and his 
talk was fascinating and bright. 

He was sometimes sought in a legal way by 
prominent financiers, who asked his opinions upon 
fiscal matters in America. There is no doubt but 
that, like Judah P. Benjamin, he could have built 
up a large practice abroad, had he cared to do- so ; 
but permanent residence away from home was en- 
tirely out of his mind. 

In December, 1866, General and Mrs. Toombs 
received a cable message telling them of the death 
of their only daughter, Mi's. Dudley M. DuBose, 
in AVashington, Ga. Mrs. Toombs at once returned 
home, leaving the grief-stricken father alone in 
Paris. Anxious to go back with her, he was ad- 
vised that matters were still unsettled in the 
United States. The impeachment of Andrew John- 
son was in progress, and his conviction meant re- 
stored martial law for the South. So the days 
were full of woe for the lonely exile. 

On December 25, 1866, he writes a beautiful 
and pathetic letter to his wife. While the deni- 



WITHOUT A COUNTRY. 311 

zens of the gay city were deep in the celebration 
of the joyous Christmas feast, the Southern wan- 
derer, "with heart bowed down," was passing 
throu"-h the shadows, and suft'erino- in silence the 
keenest pangs of affliction. Around him the vo- 
taries of fashion and wealth were flushed with 
gayety. Paris was in the ecstasy of Christmas- 
tide. But the depths of his soul were starless 
and chill, and in the midst of all this mirth one 
heart was tuned to melancholy. He writes to 
his wife : 

The night you left I retired to the room ancl did not go 
to sleep until after two o'clock. I felt so sad at parting 
witli you and could not help thinking what a long dreary 
trip you had tliat night. I shall have a long journey of 
five thousand miles to Havana, and do not know that I 
shall meet a human being to whom I am known, but if I 
keep well I shall not mind that, especially as I am home- 
ward bound ; for my hearthstone is desolate, and clouds 
and darkness hover over the little remnant that is left of 
us, and of all our poor friends and countrymen ; and, when 
you get home, Washington will contain nearly all that is 
dear to me in this world. I remained alone yesterday after 
I got up and went to my solitary meal. I immediately 
came back to my room, and have seen nothing of Christmas 
in Paris. 

On January 1, 1867, he writes : 

This is the first of the new year. How sad it opens upon 
me ! In a foreign land, with all that is dear to Tue on earth 
beyond the ocean, either on the way to a distant home or 
at its desolate fireside. Well, I shall not nurse such gloomy 



312 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

ideas. Let us hoj^e tliat the new year may be happier and 
that we may grow better. God knows I cannot regret that 
1866 is gone. I hope its calamities will not enter with us 
into 1867. I had hoped to hear from New York of your 
safe arrival on the other side of the ocean. 

The loss of liis daiigliter Sallie was a severe 
blow to General Toombs. But two of liis chil- 
dren lived to be grown. His eldest daughter 
Louise died in 1855, shortly after her marriage to 
Mr. W. F. Alexander. General Toombs had a 
son who died in early childhood of scarlet fever. 
This was a great blow to him, for he always 
longed for a son to bear his name. Away oif in 
Paris his heart yearned for his four little grand- 
children, left motherless by this ne^v affliction. 
He writes again from Paris : 

I almost determined to take the steamer Saturday and 
run the gauntlet to New York. I would have done so but 
for my promise to you. I know everything looks worse 
and worse on our side of the ocean, but when will it be any 
better ? Is this state of things to last forever ? To me it 
is becoming intolerable.*. . . . Kiss the dear little chil- 
dren for me. Bless tlieir hearts ! IIow I long to see them 
and take them to my arms. God bless you ! Pray for me 
that I may be a better man in the new year than in all the 
old ones before in my time. 

Early in January General Toombs decided to 
sail for Cuba and thence to New Orleans. If he 
found it unsafe to remain in the South he con- 
cluded he could either go back to Cuba or extend 



WITHOUT A COUNTRY. 313 

his travels into Canada. He liad promised his 
wife he would remain abroad for the present. 
But he writes : 

The worst that can happen to me is a prison, and I don't 
see much to choose between my present condition and any 
decent fort. I feel so anxious about you and the children 
that it makes me very wretched. 

From Paris, January 16, 1867, he writes : 

My preparations are all complete, and I leave to-morrow 
on the JUiew World for Havana and Xew Orleans, via Mar- 
tinique. I am well ; except m}^ throat. I shall have a long 
and lonesome voyage, with not mucli else to cheer me but 
that I shall find you and our dear little ones at the end of 
my journey. If I am permitted to find you all well, I shall 
be compensated for its fatigues and dangers. God grant 
that we may all meet once more in this world in health ! 
Yours truly and affectionately, as ever, 

Toombs. 

General Toombs returned to America and after 
a short residence in Canada went to Washington, 
where he had a lono* interview with his old sena- 
torial colleague. President Andrew Johnson. He 
went home from AYashino-ton and was never ag-ain 
molested. He made no petition for relief of 
political disabilities. He was never restored to 
citizenship. When Honorable Samuel J. Randall 
proposed his General Amnesty Act in 1875, Mr. 
Blaine and other Republicans desired to exclude 
from its provisions the names of Davis and Toombs. 
The Democrats would not accept this amendment, 



314 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

and tlie bill was never passed. Once, wlien Sena- 
tor Oliver P. Morton asked General Toombs why 
lie did not petition Congress for pardon, Toombs 
quietly answered, " Pardon for wliat ? I have not 
pardoned you all yet." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

COMMEXCrS'G LIFE AXEAV. 

"Whex General Toombs finally returned to 
Georgia it was with a great part of liis fortune gone, 
his political career cut off by hopeless disability, 
and his household desolate. These were serious 
calamities for a man fifty-seven years of age. He 
found himself forced under new and unfavorable 
conditions to build all over again, but he set about 
it in a vigorous and heroic way. His health was 
good. He was a splendid specimen of man- 
hood. His once raven locks were gray, and his 
beard, ^v•hicll gre^v out from his throat, gave him 
a grizzly appearance. His dark eye was full of 
fire and his mind responded with vigor to its new 
work. 

When General Toombs arrived at AYashington, 
Ga., he consulted some of his friends over the 
advisability of returning to the practice of law, 
which he had left twenty-five years before. Their 
advice was against it. Things were in chaos ; the 
people were impoverished, and the custodians of 
the courts were the creatures of a hostile govern- 
ment. But Robert Toombs was made of different 

315 



316 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

stiift*. Associating himself iu tlie practice of Lis 
profession witli General Dudley M. DuBose, who 
had been his chief of staff, and ^vas his son-in-law, 
an able and popular man in the full vigor of man- 
hood, General Toombs returned actively to the 
practice of law. He w^as not long in turning to 
practical account his great abilities. Success soon 
claimed him as an old favorite. Business accumu- 
lated and the ex-senator and soldier found himself 
once more at the head of the bar of Georgia. 
Lai'ge fees were readily commanded. He was 
employed iu important cases in every part of 
Georgia, and the announcement that Robert 
Toombs was to appear before judge and jury was 
enough to draw large crowds from city and country. 
His old habits of indomitable industry returned. 
He rode the circuits like a young barrister again. 
He was a close collector of claims, an admirable 
administrator, a safe counselor, and a bold and 
fearless advocate. In a short time General 
Toombs' family found themselves once more in 
comfort, and he was the same power wdth the 
people that he had always been. 

Cut off from all hope of official promotion, 
scorning to sue for political pardon, he strove to 
wield in the courts some of the power he forfeited 
iu politics. He figured largely in cases of a public 
nature, and became an outspoken tribune of the 
people. He did not hesitate to face the Supreme 



COMMENCING LIFE ANEW. 317 

Court of Georgia, then made up of Eepublican 
judges, and attack tLe laws of a Republican legis- 
lature. Among the bills passed at that time to 
popularize tlie legislature witli the people, was a 
series of liberal homestead and exemption laws. 
They w^ere the relief measures of 1868. By these 
schemes, at once rigorous and sweeping, millions of 
dollars were lost in Georgia, They were intended 
to wipe out old debts, especially contracts made 
during the war, and Governor Bullock had ap- 
pointed a Supreme Court which sustained them. 
These laws were abhorrent to Toombs. He thun- 
dered against them with all the powers of his 
learning and eloquence. AVheu he arose in court, 
there stood with him, he believed, not only 
the cause of his client, but the honor of 
the whole State of Georgia. It was much 
easier to seduce a poverty-stricken people by 
offering them measures of relief than to drive 
them by the bayonet or to subject them to 
African domination. In the case of Hardeman 
against Downer, in June, 1868, he declared before 
the Supreme Court that these homestead laws put 
a premium on dishonesty and robbed the poor 
man of his capital. " But we must consider the 
intention of the Act," said the Court. " Was it not 
the intention of the legislature to prevent the col- 
lection of just such claims as these you now 
bring ? " " Yes, may it please the Court," said 



318 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Toombs, shaking his leonine locks, " there can be 
no doubt that it was the intention of the legisla- 
ture to defraud the creditor ; but they have failed 
to put their intention in a form that would stand, 
so it becomes necessary for this Court to add its 
own ingenuity to this villainy. It seems that this 
Court is makino; laws rather than decisions." 

In one of his dissenting opinions upon these 
laws, Justice Hiram Warner declared that he 
would not allow his name to go down to posterity 
steeped in the infamy of such a decision. General 
Toombs lost his case, but the decision was sub- 
sequently overruled by the Supreme Court of the 
United States. 

The times were full of evil. The legislature 
was dominated by adventui'ers and ignorant men, 
and public credit was freely voted away to new 
enterprises. The State was undeveloped, and this 
wholesale system of public improvement became 
popular. Un\vorthy men were scrambling for 
public station, and the times were out of tune. 
In the midst of this demoralization Toombs was 
a pillar of fire. He was tireless in his withering 
satire, his stinging imvective, his uncompromising 
war upon the misgovernment of the day. 

Here was a fine field and a rare occasion for his 
pungent criticism and denunciation. His utter- 
ances were not those of a political leader. He was 
not trimming his sails for office. He did not shape 



COMMENCING LIFE ANEW. 319 

his conduct so as to be considered an available 
man by the North. He fought error wherever he 
saw it. He made no terms ^v'ith those whom he 
considered public enemies. He denounced radical- 
ism as a " leagued scoundrelism of private gain and 
public plunder." 

In opposing the issue of State bonds to aid a 
certain railroad, he declared that if the legislature 
saddled this debt upon the taxpayers, their act 
would be a nullity. " AYe will adopt a new con- 
stitution with a clause repudiating these bonds, 
and like JEtna spew the monstrous frauds out of 
the market ! " 

" You may," he said, " by your deep-laid schemes, 
hill tlie thoughtless, enlist the selfish, and stifle for 
a while the voices of patriots, but the day of 
reckoning will come. These cormoi'ant corpora- 
tions, these so-called patriotic developers, w^hom 
you seek to exempt, shall pay their dues, if justice 
liv^es. By the Living God, they shall pay them." 

" Georgia shall pay her debts," said Toombs on 
one occasion. " If she does not, I will pay them 
for her!" This piece of hyperbole was softened 
by the fact that on two occasions, when the State 
needed money to supply deficits, Toombs Avith 
other Georgians did come forward and lift the 
pressure. Sometimes he talked in a random way, 
but responsibility always sobered him. He Avas 
impatient of fraud and stupidity, often full of ex- 



320 ROBERT TOOMBS, 

aggerations, but scrupulous ^vlien the truth was 
relevant. Always strict aud honorable in his en- 
gagements, he boasted that he never had a dirty 
shilling in his pocket. 

The men who "left the country for the country's 
good " and came South to fatten on the spoils of 
reconstruction, furnished unending targets for his 
satire. He declared that these so-called developers 
came for pelf, not patriotism. " Why, these men," 
he said, " are like thieving elephants. Tliey will 
uproot an oak or pick up a pin. They would 
steal anything from a button to an empire." On 
one occasion he was bewailing the degeneracy of 
the times, and he exclaimed : " I am sorry I have 
got so much sense. I see into the tricks of these 
public men too quickly. When God Almighty 
moves me from the earth, he Avill take a^^'ay a heap 
of experience. I expect when a man gets to be 
seventy he ought to go, for he knows too much for 
other people's convenience." 

"■ I hope the Lord will allow me to go to heaven 
as a gentleman," he used to say. " Some of these 
Georgia politicians I do not want to associate 
with. I would like to associate with Socrates and 
Shakespeare." 

During his arguments before the Supreme 
Court, General Toombs used to abuse the Gover- 
nor and the Bullock Legislature very roundly. 
The Court adopted a rule that no lawyer should 



COMMENCING LIFE ANEW. 321 

be allowed, while conducting his case, to abuse a 
coordinate branch of the government. General 
Toombs was informed that if he persisted in this 
practice he would be held for contempt. The 
next time Toombs went before the Court he 
alluded to the fugitive Governor in very sharp 
terms. " May it please your Plonors, the Governor 
has now absconded. Your Honors have put in a 
little rule to catch me. In seeking to protect the 
powers that be, I presume you did not intend to 
defend the powers that were." 

The papers printed an accoimt of an interview 
between General Gordon and Mr. Tilden in 1880, 
Gordon told Tilden that he was sorry he could 
not impart to Tilden some of his own strength and 
vitality. " So my brother told me last year," 
answered Mr. Tilden. " I have since followed him 
to the grave." Toombs read this and remarked 
that Tilden did not think he was going to die. 
" No one expects to die but I. I have got sense 
enough to know that I am bound to die." 

On one occasion Toombs was criticising an ap- 
pointment made by an unpopular official. " But, 
General," someone said, " you must confess that it 
was a good appointment." " That may be, but 
that was not the reason it was made. Bacon was 
not accused of selling injustice. He was eternally 
damned for selling justice." 

General Toombs was once asked in a crowd in 



322 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

the Kimball House in Atlanta ^vliat he thought 
of the North. " My opinion of the Yankees is 
apostolic. Alexander the coppersmith did me 
much evil. Tlie Lord reward him according to 
his works." A Federal officer was standing 
in the crowd. He said : " Well, General, we 
whipped you, anyhow." " No," replied Toombs, 
" we just wore ourselves out whipping you." 
He spoke of the spoliators in the State Legis- 

) lature as " an assembly of manikins whose object 

I is never higher than their breeches pockets ; 

i seekers of jobs and judgeships, anything for pap 
or plunder, an amalgamation of white rogues and 
blind negroes, gouging the treasury and disgrac- 

j ing Georgia." 

He was a violent foe of exemptions, of bounties, 
and of all sorts of corruption and fraud. He was 
overbearing at times, but not more conscious of 
power than of honesty in its use. He was gener- 
ous to the weak. It was in defense of his ideas 
of justice that he overbore opposition. 

General Toombs kept the issues before the peo- 
ple. He had no patience with the tentative policy. 
He forfeited much of his influence at this time by 
his indiscriminate abuse of Northern men and 
Southern opponents, and his defiance of all the 
conditions of a restored Union. He could have 
served his people best by more conservative con- 
duct, but he had all the roughness and acerbity of 



COMMENCING LIFE ANEW. 323 

a reformer, dead in earnest. It was owing to liis 
constant arraignment of illegal acts of the post- 
bellum regime that the people finally aroused, 
in 1870, and regained the State for white suprem- 
acy and Democratic government. He challenged 
the authors of the Reconstruction measui'es to dis- 
cuss the constitutionality of the amendments. 
Charles J. Jenkins had already carried the cause of 
Georgia into the courts, and Linton Stephens, be- 
fore United States Commissioner Swayze in Macon, 
had made an exhaustiv^e argument upon the whole 
su1>ject. Toombs forced these issues constantly 
into his cases, and kept public interest at white 
heat. 



CHAPTEK XXVII. 

DAYS OF EECONSTRUCTIOlSr 

In" July, 1868, tlie people of Georgia made tlie 
first determiued stand against the Kepul^lican 
party. John B. Gordon Avas nominated for Gov- 
ernor, and Seymour and Blair had been named in 
New York as National Democratic standard-bear- 
ers. A memorable meeting was held in Atlanta. 
It was the first real rally of the white people 
under the new order of things. Robert Toombs, 
Howell Cobb, and Benjamin H. Hill addressed 
the multitude. There was much enthusiasm, and 
crowds gathered from every part of Georgia. 
This was the great " Bush Arbor meeting " of 
that year, and old men and l)oys speak of it to- 
day with kindling ardor. "Few people," said 
Toombs in that speech, "had escaped the hor- 
rors of war, and fewer still the stern and bitter 
curse of civil war. The histories of the greatest 
peoples of earth have been filled with defeats as 
well as victories, suffering as well as happiness, 
shame and reproach as well as honor and glory. 
The struggles of the great and good are the 
noblest legacies left by the past to the present 

324 



DAYS OF RECONSTRUCTION. 325 

generation, tropLies wortliy to be laid at the feet 
of Jehovali himself. Those whose blades glittered 
in the foremost ranks of the Northern army on 
the battlefield, with a yet higher and nobler pur- 
pose denounce the base uses to which the victory 
has been applied. The old shibboleths of victory 
are proclaimed as li^dng principles. Whatever 
else may be -lost, the principles of Magna Charta 
have survived the conflict of arms. The edicts of 
the enemy abolish all securities of life, liberty, 
and property ; defeat all the rightful ]:)urposes of 
government, and renounce all remedies, all laws. 

General Toombs denounced the incompetency 
of the dominant party in Georgia — " In its tyranny, 
its corruption, its treachery to the Caucasian 
race, its patronage of vice, of fraud, of crime and 
criminals, its crime against humanity and in its 
efforts to subordinate the safeguards of public se- 
curity and to uproot the foundations of free gov- 
ernment it has forfeited all claims upon a free 
people." 

Alluding; to General Lonsrstreet, who liad been 
a member of the Republican party. General 
Toombs said : " I Avould not have him tarnish his 
own laurels. I res]:»ect his courage, honor his de- 
votion to his cause, and i-egret his errors." He de- 
nounced the ruKng party of Georgia as a mass of 
floating putrescence, "which rises as it rots and 
rots as it rises." He declared that the Reconstruc- 



326 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

tion Acts " stared out in their naked deformity, open 
to tlie indignant gaze of all honest men." 

The campaign at that time was made upon the 
illegality of the amendments to the Constitution. 
Enthusiasm was fed by the fiery and impetuous in- 
vective of Toombs. The utterances of most public 
men were guarded and conservative. But when 
Toombs spoke the people realized that he uttered 
the convictions of an unshackled mind and a fear- 
less spirit. Leaders deprecated his extreme views, 
but the hustings rang with his ruthless candor. 

The conclusion of his Bush Arbor effort was a 
fine sample of his fervid speech : "All these and 
many more -wTongs have been heaped upon jow, 
my countr}Tnen, without your consent. Your con- 
sent alone can give the least validity to these usur- 
]3ations. Let no power on earth wring that con- 
sent from you. Take no counsel of fear ; it is the 
meanest of masters ; spurn the temptations of office 
from the polluted hands of your oppressors. He 
who owns only his own sepulcher at the price of 
such claims holds a heritage of shame. Unite with 
the National Democratic party. Your country says 
come ; honor says come ; duty says come ; liberty 
says come ; the country is in danger ; let every 
freeman hasten to the rescue." 

It was at this meeting that Benjamin H. Hill, 
\ who made so much reputation by the publica- 
; tion of a series of papers entitled, " Notes on the 



DAYS OF RECONSTRUCTION. 32V 

Situation," delivered one of the most memorable 
speeches of his life. It was a moving, overmaster- 
ing appeal to the people to go to the polls. AVhen 
this oration was over, the audience was almost 
wild, and Robert Toombs, standing on the plat- 
form, in his enthusiasm threw his hat away into 
the delighted throng. A young bright-faced boy / 
jiicked it up and carried it back to the speakers' ' 
stand. It was Heniy Grady. 

The defeat of the National Democratic party in 
1808 disheartened the Southern people, and the old 
disinclination to take part in politics seized them 
stronger than before. In 1870, however. General 
Toombs delivered, in different parts of Georgia, a 
carefully prepared lecture on the Principles of 
Magna Charta. It was just the reverse in style 
and conception to his fervid Bush Arbor oration. 
It was submitted to manuscript and was read fi'om 
notes at the speakers' stand. AVith the possible 
exception of hisTremont Temple lectui'e, delivered 
in Boston in 1856, it was the only one of his public 
addresses so carefully prepared and so dispassion- 
ately delivered. In his opinion the principles of 
free government \vere drifting away from old land- 
marks. The times were out of Joint, the people 
were demoralized. The causes which afterward 
led to the great revolt in the Bepublican 
ranks in 1872 Avere already marked in the 
quick perception of Toonibs, and this admir- 



328 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

able state paper was framed to put the issue 
before the public in a sober, statesmanlike wa}^, 
and to draw the people back to their old moor- 
iuffs. This lecture was delivered in all the lar^e 
\ cities and many of the smaller tow^ns of Greorgia, 
j and had a great effect. Abeady there had been 
' concerted appeal to Georgians to cease this politi- 
cal opposition and " accept the situation." Even 
statesmen like Mr. Hill had come round to the 
point of advising the people to abandon " dead 
issues." The situation w^as more desperate than 
ever. 

In his Mao^na Charta lecture Mr, Toombs said 
that Algernon Sidney had summed up the object 
of all human wisdom as the good government of 
the people. " From the earliest ages to the pres- 
ent time," said he, " there has been a continued 
contest between the wise and the virtuous who 
wish to secure good government and the corrupt 
who were unwilling to grant it. The highest duty 
of every man, a duty enjoined by God, was the 
service of his country." This was the great value 
of the victory at Runny mede, with its rich fruits 
— that rights should be respected and that justice 
should be done. " These had never been denied 
for seven hundred years, until the present evil 
days," said Toombs. Magna Charta had been 
overridden and trampled underfoot by brave ty- 
rants and evaded by cowardly ones. There had 



DATS OF RECONSTRUCTION. 329 

been ino-enious scliemes to destroy it. The men of 
'76 fought for Magna Charta. These principles 
liad been prominent in our Constitution until a 
Kepublican majority attempted destruction and 
civil war. Kings had made efforts to destroy its 
power and subvert its influence. Not a single noble 
family existed in England but which had lost 
a member in its defense. Society was organized 
to protect it, and all good and true men are re- 
quired to maintain its teachings. " The assassins 
of liberty are now in power, but a reaction is com- 
ing. Stand firm, make no compromise, have noth- 
ing'- to do with men who talk of dead issues. It is 
the shibboleth of ruin. Push forward, and make 
a square fight for your liberties." 

The plain but powerful summary of public ob- 
ligation had a more lasting effect than his more 
fiery appeals. General Toombs was a potent 
leader in the campaign, though not himself a can- 
didate or even a voter. General D. M. DuBose, 
his law partner, was elected to Congress this year, 
and the Democratic party secured a majority in 
the State Leo-islature. Amona^ the men who 
shared in the redemption of the State Kobert 
Toombs was the first and most conspicuous. 

Some of the best speeches made by General 
Toombs at this time were delivered to the farmers 
at the various agricultural fairs. These were fre- 
quent and, as Judge Reese declared, abounded 



330 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

with wisdom wMcli caused liim years of reflection 
and observation. He liad been reared upon a 
farm. His interests, as his sympathies, were with 
these people. He remained in active management 
of ]iis large plantation, Roanoke, in Stewart 
County, during the period when he was a member 
of Congress and even when he was in the army. 
Two or three times a year he made visits to that 
place and was always in close communication with 
his overseers. He loved the work and was a suc- 
cessful farmer. A fondness for gardening and 
stock-raisins^ remained with him until his last 
years. Even in a very busy and tempestuous life, 
as he characterized it in speaking to Judge Eeese, 
a spacious garden, with orchards and vineyards, 
was to him an unfailing source of recreation and 
pleasure. 

He writes to his wife of the disasters of the 
army at Orange Court House, Va., but finds time 
to add : " The gardens and fruit are great addi- 
tions to the family comfort, and every eifort 
should be made to put tliem in the best condi- 
tion." IVritine: from Richmond of the condition 
of Lee's army in March, 1862, he does not forget 
to add : " I am sorry to know that the prospects 
of the crops are so bad. One of the best reliances 
now is the garden. Manure high, work Avell, and 
keep planting vegetables." From Roanoke, in 
1868, he writes; "My plantation affairs are not in 



DAYS OF RECONSTRUCTION. 331 

as good condition as I would wish. I liave lost a 
great many sheep, have but few lambs and little 
wool; cattle poor — all need looking after." In 
the midst of the shelling of Atlanta in 1864, he 
writes from the trenches to his ^^•ife : " Tell Squire 
to put your cows and GabrieFs in the volunteer 
oatfield. Every day we hear cannonading in 
front." 

It was in 1869 that General Toombs made one 
of his great speeches at the State fair in Columbus, 
in the course of which he used this expression ; 
" The farmers of Georgia will never enjoy general 
prosperity until they quit making the West their 
corncrib and smokehouse." It was in that same 
speech that Toombs said, referring to the soldiers 
of the South ; " Liberty, in its last analysis, is ( 
but the sweat of the poor and the blood of the ) 
brave." Most of the great men in Georgia have \ 
been reared in the country. There seems to be 
something in the pure air, the broad fields, and 
even the solitude, conducive to vigor and self- 
reliance. Attrition and culture have finished the 
work laid up by the farmer boy, and that fertile 
section of middle Georgia, so rich in products of 
the earth, has given greatness to the State. 

In August, 1872, General Toombs was invited 
by the alumni of the Uni^'el•sity of Georgia to 
deliver the annual address durino- commencement 
week. A lars^e crowd was in attendance and the 



332 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

veteran orator received an ovation. He departed 
from Lis usual custom and attempted to read a 
written speech. His eyesight had begun to fail 
him, the formation of a cataract having been felt 
with great inconvenience. The pages of the 
manuscript became separated and General Toombs, 
for the first time in his life, is said to have been 
embarrassed. He had not read more than one 
quarter of his speech when this complication was 
discovered, and he was unable to find the missing 
sheets. Governor Jenkins, who was sitting on 
the stage, whispered to him ; " Toombs, throw 
away your manuscript and go it on general princi- 
ples." The general took oif his glasses, stuffed 
the mixed essay into his pocket, and advanced to 
the front of the stao-e. He was received ^\\i\\ 
a storm of applause from the crowd, who had 
relished his discomfiture and were delighted with 
the thouo^ht of an old-time talk from Toombs. 
For half an hour he made one of his eloquent and 
electric speeches, and when he sat down the audi- 
ence screamed for more. No one but Toombs 
could have emerged so brilliantly from this awk- 
ward dilemma. 

General Toombs opposed the nomination of 
Horace Greeley for President by the National 
Democratic convention in 1872. Mr. Stephens 
edited the Atlanta Sun, and these two friends 
once more joined their great powers to prevent 



DAYS OF RECONSTRUCTION. 333 

tlie consummation of what they regarded as a vast 
political mistake. Greeley carried the State by a 
very reduced majority. 

In January, 1873, Avhen Mr. Stephens was de- 
feated for the United States Senate by General 
John B. Gordon, General Toombs called a meet- 
in o- of the leaders of the ei2;hth district in his room 
at the Kimball House in Atlanta, and nominated 
his friend Alexander Stephens for Congress. He 
needed no other indorsement, lie was elected 
and reelected, and remained in Congress until he 
resigned in 1882, to become Governor of Georgia. 
Toombs and Stephens never lost their lead as dic- 
tators in Georgia politics. 

The man in Georgia who suffered most fre- 
quently from the criticism of General Toombs 
during this eventful period was ex-Governor 
Joseph E. Brown. His position in taking his 
place in the Republican party, in accej^tiug office, ! 
and se]5arating himself from his oTd friends and 
allies, broughFdown upon him the opprobrium of 
most of the people. It was at a time when Charles 
J. Jenkins had carried aAvay the great seal of Geor- 
gia and refused to surrender it to a hostile govern- 
ment. It was at a time when Linton Stephens, 
the most vigorous as tlie most popular public man 
during the reconstruction period, was endeavoring 
to arouse the people. Governor Brown's apostasy 
was unfortunate. No man was then more exe- 



334 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

crated by fhe people who liad honored him. His 
name, for a while, Avas a byword and a reproach. 
Mr. Stephens defended his position as conscien- 
tious if not consistent, and gave Governor Brown 
the credit for the purity as well as the courage of 
his convictions. Governor Brown bore the con- 
tumely ^vith patience. He contended that he 
could best serve the State by assuming functions 
that must otherwise be placed in hostile hands, 
and his friends declare to-day that in accepting the 
amendments to the Constitution he simply occu- 
pied in advance the ground to which the party 
and the people were forced to come. But his 
position did not compare favorably with that of 
the prominent Georgians of that day. 

The relations of Governor Brown and General 
Toombs continued strained. The latter never 
lost an opportunity to upbraid him in public or in 
private, and some of his keenest thrusts were 
aimed at the plodding figure of his old friend and 
ally, as it passed on its lonely way through the 
shadows of its long probation. 

On one occasion in Atlanta, in July, 1872, Gen- 
eral Toombs among other things referred to a 
lobby at the legislature in connection with a claim 
for the Mitchel heirs. Governor Brown had re- 
mained quiet during his long political ostracism, 
but he turned upon his accuser now with un- 
looked-for severity. He answered the charge by 



BAYS OF RECOKSTRUCTIOX. 335 

declaring tliat if Toombs accused him of lobbying 
this claim, he was an " unscrupulous liar." The 
reply did not attract much attention until it be- 
came known that General Toombs had sent a 
friend to Governor Brown to know if the latter 
would accept a challenge. Colonel John C. 
Nicholls was the friend, and Governor Brown re- 
turned the answer that when he received the 
challenge he would let him know. General 
Toombs did not push the matter further. The af- 
fair took the form of a newspaper controversy, 
which Avas conducted with much acrimony on both 
sides. Colonel NichoUs stated in print his belief 
that Governor Brown would not have accepted a 
challeno^e but would have used it to Toondjs' in- 
jury before the people. The prospect of a duel 
between these two old men created a sensation at 
the time. It would have been a shock to the 
public sense of propriety to have allowed such a 
meeting. It would never have been permitted; 
but Governor Brown seems to have been deter- 
mined to put the issue to the touch. He had pre- 
pared his resignation as a deacon of the Baptist 
Church, and had placed his house in order. He 
seemed to realize that this was the turning-point 
of his career, and there is no doubt that General 
Toombs gave him the opportunity to appear in a 
better light than he had done for a long time ; this 
incident was the beginning of his return to popu- 



336 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

larity and influence in Georgia. General Toombs 
was censured for provoking Governor Brown into 
the attitude of expecting a challenge and then de- 
clining to send it. 

Both General Toombs and Mr. Stephens were 
believers in the code of honor. Mr. Stephens 
once challenged Governor Ilerschel V. Johnson, 
and at another time he called out Hon. Ben- 
jamin II. Hill. General Toombs peremptorily 
challeno-ed General D. H. Hill after the battle of 
Malvern Hill. In 1851), Avhen United States 
Senator Broderich was killed by Judge Terry in 
California, ]\Ir. Toombs delivered a striking eulogy 
of Broderick in the United States Senate. He 
said ; " The dead man fell in honorable contest 
under a code which he fully recognized. AYhile I 
lament his sad fate, I have no censure f(jr him or 
his adversary. I think that no man under any 
circumstances can have a more enviable death than 
to fall in vindication of his honor. He has gone 
beyond censure or praise. He has passed away 
from man's judgment to the bar of the Judge of 
all the Earth." 



CHAPTER XXVIIL 

HIS LAST PUBLIC SERVICE. 

OxE of the reforms advocated by General 
Toombs upon the return of the white people to 
the control of the State Government was the 
adoption of a new State Constitution. He never 
tired of declaring that the organic law of 1868 was 
the product of '' aliens and usurpers," and that Le 
would have none of it ; Georgia must be repre- 
sented by her own sons in council and live under 
a constitution of her own making. In May, 1877, 
an election was held to determine the question, 
and in spite of considerable opposition, even in 
the Democratic party, the [)eople decided, by nine 
thousand majority, to have a constitutional con- 
vention. 

On July 10, 1877, that body, consisting of 194 
delegates, assembled in Atlanta to revise the 
organic law. Charles J. Jenkins ^vas elected 
president ot the convention. He had been de- 
posed from the office of Governor of Georgia at 
tile point of the bayonet in 1866. He had carried 
the case of the State of Geor«:ia before the national 
Supreme Court and contested the validity of the 

337 



338 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

Reconstruction measures. He had carried witli 
liin], when expelled from the State Capitol, the 
great seal of the State, which he restored when 
the government was again remitted to his own 
people, and in public session of the two houses of 
the General Assembly, Governor Jenkins had been 
presented ^vith a facsimile of the great seal, ^vith 
the fitting words cut into its face, "In Arduis 
Fidelis." These words are graven on his monu- 
ment to-day. He was more than seventy years of 
age, but bore himself with vigor and ability. There 
was a strong re2:)resentation of the older men who 
had served the State before the war, and the 
younger members were in full sympathy with 
them. It was an unusual body of men — possibly 
the ablest that had assembled since the secession 
convention of 1861. General Toombs, of course, 
was the most prominent. He had been elected a 
delegate from his senatorial district — the only 
office he had occupied since the war. His activity 
in securing its call, his striking presence, as he 
w^alked to his seat, clad in his long summer duster, 
carrying his brown straw hat and his unlighted 
cigar, as well as his tireless labors in that body, 
made him the center of interest. General Toombs 
was chairman of the committee on legislation and 
chairman of the final committee on revision. 
This body was made up of twenty-six of the most 
prominent members of the convention, and to it 



EIS LAST PUBLIC SERVICE. 339 

were submitted the reports of the other thirteen 
committees. It was the duty of this committee 
to harmonize and digest the various matters com- 
ing before it, and to prepare the final report, which 
was discussed in open convention. General 
Toombs was practically in charge of the whole 
business of this body. He closely attended all 
the sessions of the convention, which lasted each 
day from 8.30 in the morning to 1 o'clock p. m. 
The entire afternoons were taken up with the im- 
portant and exacting work of his committee of 
final revision. Frequently it was far into the 
night before he and his clerk had prepared their 
reports. General Toombs was in his sixty-eighth 
year, but stood the ordeal well. His facility, his 
endurance, his genius, his eloquence and perti- 
nacity were revelations to the younger men, who 
knew him mainly by tradition. General Toombs 
proposed the only safe and proper course for the 
convention when he arose in his place on the floor 
and declared ; " All this convention has to do is 
to establish a few fundamental principles and 
leave the other matters to the le2:islature and the 
people, in order to meet the ever varying affairs 
of human life." There was a persistent tendency 
to legislate upon details, a tendency which could 
not be entirely kept down. There was an element 
elected to this convention bent upon retrenchment 
and reform, and these delegates forced a long 



340 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

debate upon lowering the salaries of public oflftcers, 
a policy which finally prevailed. During the 
progress of this debate General Toombs arose im- 
patiently in his place and declared that, " The 
whole finances of the State are not included when 
we are speaking of the Governor's salary, and you 
spend more in talking about it than your children ■ 
will have to pay in forty years." 

Occasionally he was betrayed into one of his 
erratic positions, as when he moved to strike out 
the section against dueling, and also to expunge 
from the bill of rights all restrictions upon bearing 
arms. He said: "Let the people bear arms for 
their own protection, wdi ether in their boots or 
wherever they may choose." 

But his treatment of public questions was full 
of sound sense and discretion. He warned the 
convention that those members who, from hostility 
to the State administration, wished to wipe out 
the terms of the office-holders and make a new 
deal upon the adoption of the new constitution, 
were making a rash mistake. They would array 
a new class of enemies and imperil the passage of 
the new law. He advocated tlie submission of all 
doubtful questions, like the homestead laws and 
the location of the new Capitol, to the people in 
separate ordinances. He urged in eloquent terms 
the enlargement of the Supreme Court from three 
justices to five. Having been a champion of the 



ms LAST PUBLIC SERVICE. 341 

law calling that Court into being forty years be- 
fore, lie knew its needs and proposed a reform 
which, if adopted, would have cut off much trouble 
in Georgia to-day. 

General Toombs was an advocate of the ordi- 
nance which took the selection of the judges and 
solicitors from the hands of the Governor and 
made them elective by the General Assembl}^ A 
strong element in the convention wanted the judi- 
ciary elected by the people. A member of the 
convention turned to General Toombs during the 
debate and said ; " You dare not refuse the people 
this right to select their own judges." " I dare do 
anything that is right," replied Toombs. " It is 
not a reproach to the people to say that they are 
not able to do all the work of a complex govern- 
ment. Government is the act of the people after 
all." He reminded the convention that a new and 
ignorant element had been thrown in among the 
people as voters. " We must not onl}^ protect our- 
selves against them, but in behalf of the poor 
African," said he, "I would save him from himself. 
These people are kind, and affectionate, but their 
previous condition, whether by your fault or not^ 
was such as to disqualify them from exercising the 
right of self-government. They were put upon us 
by people to make good government impossible in 
the South for all time, and before God, I believe 
they have done it." 



342 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

In ans^ver to tlie argument that those States 
which had given the selection of judges to the 
people liked it, General Toombs replied that this 
did not prove that it was right or best. " It is 
easy to take the road to hell, but few people ever 
return from it." General Toombs prevailed in 
this point. He was also the author of the resolu- 
tion authorizino; the leo-islature to lew a lax to 
furnish good substantial artificial limbs to those 
who had lost them during the war. 

General Toombs declared frequently during the 
debate that one of his main objects in going 
to the convention, and for urging the people to 
vote for the call, was to place a clause in the new 
law prohibiting the policy of State aid to railroads 
and public enterprises. He had seen monstrous 
abuses grow up under this system. He had no- 
ticed that the railroads built by private enter- 
prise had proven good investments ; that no rail- 
road aided by the State had paid a dividend. He 
declared that Georg-ia had never loaned her credit 
from the time when Oglethorpe landed at Yama- 
craw up to 1866, and she should never do it again. 
He wanted this license buried and buried forever. 
His policy prevailed. State aid to railroads was 
prohibited ; corporate credit cannot now be loaned 
to public enterprises, and municipal taxation was 
wisely restricted. Genei-al Toombs declared with 
satisfaction that he had locked the door of the 



EIS LAST PUBLIC SERVICE. 343 

treasury, and put the key into the pocket of tke 
people. 

During the proceedings of this convention an 
effort was made to open the courts to review the 
cases of certain outlawed bonds, which the legis- 
latui-e had refused to pay, and which the people 
had repudiated by constitutional amendment. 
Impressed by the conviction that certain classes 
of these bonds should be paid, the venerable 
president of the convention surrendered the chair 
and pled from his place on the floor for a ju- 
dicial review of this question. 

No sooner was this solemn and urgent appeal 
concluded than General Toombs bounded to the 
floor. He declared with energy that no power of 
heaven or hell could bind him to pay these bonds. 
The contract w^as one of bayonet usurpation. 
Within a few days the legislature had loaded the 
State down with fi'om ten to fifteen millions of the 
" bosrus bonds." 

The term '' repudiation " was distasteful to many. 
The bondholders did not relisli it ; but lie thought 
it was a good honest word. No one was bound 
by these contracts, because they were not the acts 
of the people. " I have examined all the facts 
pertaining to these claims," said Toombs, "and 
looking to nothing but the State's integrity, I af- 
firm that the matter shall go no further without 
my strenuous opposition. The legislature has 



344 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

again and again declared tlie claims fraudulent. 
The people have spoken. Let the bonds die." 
The convention agreed with Toombs. 

On the 16th of August the convention, then in 
the midst of its labors, confronted a crisis. The 
appropriation of $25,000 made by the legislature 
to meet the expenses of the convention had been 
exhausted, and the State Treasurer notified the 
president that he could not honor his warrants 
any further. This was a practical problem. The 
work mapped out had not been half done. Many 
of the delegates were poor men from the rural 
districts and were especially dependent upon their 
per diern dui^ing the dull summer season. To pro- 
ceed required about $1000 per day. To have 
crippled this body in its labors would have been a 
public calamity. • To check upon the public treas- 
ury beyond the limit fixed by law involved a risk 
which the State Government, not too friendly to- 
ward the convention at best, declined to assume. 
To raise the money outside by a private loan pre- 
sented this risk, that in the case of the rejection of 
the constitution, then in embryo, the lender might 
find himself the holder of an uncei'tain claim. The 
convention, however, was not left long in doubt. 
AYith a heroic and patriotic abandon^ General 
Toombs declared that if Georgia would not pay 
her debts, he would pay them for her. Selling a 
dozen or two United States bonds, he placed the 



EIS LAST PUBLIC SERVICE. 345 

proceeds to tlie credit of tlie president of tlie con- 
vention, who was authorized in turn to issue 
notes of $1000 each and deposit them with Gen- 
eral Toombs. The act was spontaneous, whole- 
souled, dramatic. It saved the convention and 
rehabilitated the State with a new constitution. 
By a rising and unanimous vote General Toombs 
was publicly thanked for his pidjlic-spirited act, 
and the old man, alone remaining in his seat in the 
convention hall, covered his face with his hands, 
and shed tears durins; this unusual demonstration. 

AVhen the convention had under review the bill 
of rio-hts, General Toombs created a breeze in the 
proceedings by proposing a paragraph that the leg- 
islature should make no irrevocable grants of 
special privileges or immunities. The proposition 
received a rattling fire from all parts of the house. 
Governor Jenkins assailed it on the floor as dan- 
gerous to capital and fatal to public enterprise. It 
was argued that charters were contracts, and that 
when railroads or other interests were put upon 
notice that their franchise was likely to be dis- 
turbed, there would be an overthrow of confidence 
and development in Georgia. This was the first 
intimation of the master struo-o-le which General 
Toombs Avas about to make, an advance against 
the corporations all along the line. It Avas the 
picket-firing before the engagement. 

General Toombs had made a studv of the 



346 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

whole railroad question. He was a master of the 
law of corporations. He maintained a peculiar 
attitude toward them. He never invested a 
dollar in their stock, nor would he accept a place 
at their council boards. He rarely ever served 
them as attorney. When the General Assembly 
resolved to tax railroads in Georgia, the State 
selected General Toombs to prosecute the cases. 
In 1869 he had argued the Collins case against 
the Central Railroad and Banking Company, in 
which the court had sustained his position that 
the proposed action of the Central Road in buy- 
ing up the stock of the Atlantic and Gulf Rail- 
road, to control that road, was iiltra vires. He 
had conducted the case of Arnold DuBose against 
the Georo-ia Railroad for extortion in freiij-ht 
charges. 

The principles he had gleaned from this la- 
borious record made him resolve to place restric- 
tions upon corporate power in the new constitu- 
tion. The time was ripe for this movement. The 
Granger legislation in the West had planted in 
the organic law of Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri 
the policy of government control over the rail- 
roads. The statutes of Pennsylvania also re- 
flected the same principles, and the Supreme 
Court of the United States had decided this great 
case on the side of the people. General Toombs 
was master of the legislation on this subject in 



EIS LAST PUBLIC SERVICE. 347 

England, and Lad studied the American reports 
on tlie right and duty of the state to reguhxte rail- 
road companies. He declared, in proposing this 
new system, that these laws had been adopted 
by the most enlightened governments of the 
world. "From the days of the Roman Empire 
down to the present tune," said Toombs, " it has 
never been denied that the state has power over 
the corporations." 

At once the State Avas in an uproar. "Toombs 
is attempting a new revolution," was alleged. He 
was charged with leading an idolatrous majority 
into war upon the rights of property. Conserv- 
ative men like Jenkins deprecated the agitation. 
Atlanta was filled with a powerful railroad lobby, 
and the press resounded with warning that de- 
velopment of the waste places of Georgia would 
be retarded by this unjust and nefarious warfare. 
Robert Tooml)s was not an agrarian. His move- 
ment against the corporations was reenforced by 
delegates from the small towns in Georgia, who 
had suffered from discrimination in favor of the 
larger cities. Railroad traffic had been diverted 
by rigid and ruthless exactions, and a coterie of 
delegates from southwest Georgia stood solidly 
by Toombs. These debates drew crowds of lis- 
teners. From the galleries hundreds of interested 
Georgians looked down upon the last public 
service of Robert Toombs. He never appeared 



34g ROBERT TOOMBS. 

to finer aclvantao:e. His voice lacked its old-time 
I'iug, Lis beard was gray and his frame was bent, 
but lie was fearless, aggressive, alert, eloquent. 
He was master of the whole subject. Railways, 
he declared, were public highways. Upon no 
other principle could they receive land from the 
State, under its right of eminent domain, than that 
this land was condemned for public and not for 
private use. A public highway means that it 
must be used according: to law. In those States 
where people have been fighting the encroach- 
ments of public monopolies, it had been found 
necessary to use these terms, and Toombs prefaced 
his agitation with this announcement. 

General Toombs did not mince matters. He 
declared that the rapacious course of the railroads 
in Georgia had been spoliation. Monopoly is 
extoi'tion. Corporations must either be governed 
by the law or they will override the law. Compe- 
tition is liberty. Keep the hand of the law on 
corporations and you keep up competition ; keep 
up competition and you preserve liberty. It has 
been argued that the towns and counties in Georgia 
had grown rich. That is the same argument that 
was made in the English Parliament. They said ; 
" Look at your little colonies, how they have grown 
under our care." But the patriotic men of America 
said ; " We have grown ricli in spite of your 
oppressions." Shall we not restrain this tax- 



HIS LAST PUBLIC SERVLCE. 349 

gatlierer wlio lias no judge but liimself, no limit 
but liis avarice ? 

General Toombs wanted it placed in the consti- 
tution tliat tlie legislature shall pass these laws 
restrietino^ railroads. He declared he had twice 
drawn bills for that purpose ; they had passed the 
House, but crumbled as though touched with the 
hand of death when they came to the forty-four 
(the Senate). '" What," said he, " do I see before 
me ? The grave. What beyond that ? Starving 
millions of our posterity, that I have robbed by 
my action here, in giving them over to the keep- 
ing of these corporations. The right to control 
these railroads belongs to the State, to the people, 
and as long as I represent the people, I will not 
consent to surrender it, so help me God ! " 

The spirit of Toombs dominated that conven- 
tion. Men moved up the aisle to take their seats 
at his feet as he poured out his strong appeal. 
One-half of that body was filled with admiration, 
the other half with alarm. " It is a sacred thing 
to shake the pillars upon which the property of 
the country rests," said Mr. Hammond of Fulton. 
"Better shake the pillars of property than the 
pillars of liberty," answered this Georgia Samp- 
son, with his thews girt for the fray. " The great 
question is. Shall Geoi'gia govern the corporations 
or the corporations govern Georgia ? Choose ye 
this day whom ye shall serve ! " 



350 EGBERT TOOMBS. 

Tlie liouse rang witli applause. Members 
clustered about the old man as about the form of 
a propbet. The majority was with him. The 
articles which he had advocated came from the 
committee without recommendation, but they 
were substantially adopted, and are now parts of 
the supreme law of the land. The victory was 
won, and Robert Toombs, grim and triumphant, 
closed his legislative career, and claimed this work 
as the crowning act of his public labors. 

These principles are contained in Article IV. of 
the State constitution of Georo-ia. It declares the 
rio-lit of taxation to be sovereio:n, inviolable, and in- 
destructible, and that it shall be irrevocable by the 
State ; that the power to regulate freight and pas- 
senger tariffs and to prevent unjust discriminations 
shall be conferred upon the General Assembly, 
whose duty it shall be to pass laws for the same ; 
that the right of eminent domain shall never be 
abridged ; that any amendment to a charter shall 
bring the charter under the provisions of the 
Constitution; that the General Assembly shall 
have no authority to authorize any corporation to 
buy shares of stock in any other corporation, 
which shall have the eifect to lessen competition 
or encourage monopoly. No railroad shall pay 
a rebate or bonus. 

Under these provisions, the Railroad Com- 
mission of Georgia was organized in 1879. This 



mS LAST PUBLIC SERVICE, 351 

idea, as it finally ^YO^ked out, was General Toombs'. 
He did uot favor fixing tlie rates in the law, but 
tlie creation of sueli a commission to carry out 
these provisions. The present law was framed by 
Judge William M. Reese, Hon. Samuel Barnett, 
Ex-Senator H. D. McDaniel, and Superintendent 
Foreacre of the Kichmoud and Danville Railroad. 
It has worked well in Georo-ia. Twice has the 
legislature attempted to remodel it, but the people 
have rallied to its support and have not permitted 
it to be amended in so much as a single clause. 
It has served as an example for imitation by other 
States, and was cited as strong authority in Con- 
gress for the creation of the Inter-State Commerce 
Law. The railroad men, after fighting it for ten 
years, have come round to acknowledge its value. 
It has stood as a breakwater between the corpora- 
tions and the people. It has guaranteed justice 
to the citizen, and has worked no injury to the 
railroads. Under its wise provisions Georgia has 
])rospered, and leads the Union to-day in railroad 
buildino;. And when, durino- a recent session of 
the legislature, an attempt was made to war upon 
railroad consolidation, the saving, overmastering, 
crowning argument of the railroads themselves 
was that General Toombs had already secured 
protection for the people, and that, inider his 
masterly handiwork, the rights of property and 
the rights of the people were safe. 



352 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

When the convention had concluded its labors, 
General Toombs went before the people and 
threw himself ^vith enthusiasm into the canvass. 
He took the stump, and everywhere his voice was 
heard in favor of the adoption of the ne\v organic 
law. Many of the officers whose term had been 
cut off, and whose salai'ies had been reduced, ap- 
peared against the constitution. General Toombs 
declared that those public men who did not ap- 
prove of the lower salaries might " pour them back 
in the jug." This homely phrase became a by- word 
in the canvass. It had its origin in this way: 
In the Creek war^ in which "Capt. Eobert A. 
Toombs " commanded a company made up of vol- 
unteers from AVilkes, Elbert, and Lincoln counties, 
a negro named Kinch went along as whisky sut- 
ler. As he served out the licpior, some of the sol- 
diers complained of the price he asked. His an- 
swer was, " "Well, sir, if you don't like it, sii', pour 
it back in the jug." 

In the State election of December, 1877, the 
new constitution was overwhelmingly adopted, and 
will remain for generations the organic law of the 
Empire State of the South. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

DOMESTIC LIFE OF TOOMBS. 

There never was a pii])lic man in America 
whose lionie life was more beautiful or more 
tender tlian that of Robert Toombs. As great as 
were his public virtues, his lofty character, and 
abilities, his domestic virtues were more strikins; 
still. He was a man who loved his family. In 
1830 he was married to Julia A. Dubose, with 
whom he lived, a model and devoted husband, for 
more than fifty years. She was a lady of rare 
personal beauty, attractive manners, and common 
sense. She shared his early struggles, and watched 
the lawyer grow into the statesman and the leader 
with unflagging confidence and love. There was 
never a time that he would not leave his practice 
or his public life to devote himself to her. His 
heart yearned for her during his long separation in 
Washington, when, during the debate upon the 
great Compromise measures of 1850, he wrote 
that he would rather see her than " save the State." 
He considered her in a thousand ways. He never 
disappointed her in coming home, but, when travel- 
ing, always returned when it was possible, just at the 

353 



354 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

time lie liad promised. During the exciting scenes 
attending liis first election to the United States 
Senate, lie writes that lie feels too little interest in 
the result perhaps for his success, and longs to 
be at home. Political honors did not dra^v him 
away from his devotion to this good woman. He 
never neglected her in the smallest way. His at- 
tentions were as pointed and courtly in her last 
days as when they were bright-faced boy and girl, 
lovers and cousins, in the twenties. Durino- his 
labors in the constitutional convention of 1877, he 
one day wore upon his lapel a flower she had 
placed there, and stopping in his speech, paid fit- 
ting tribute to the pure emblem of a ^voman's 
love. A man of great deeds and great tempta- 
tions, of great passions and of glaring faults, he 
never swerved in loyalty to his wedded love, and 
no influence ever divided his alles-iance there. 
Writing to her on May 15, 1853, while he was 
United States Senator, he says : 

My Dear Julia : 

Tliis is your birthday, whicli you bid me remember, and 
this letter will show you that I have not forgotten it. To- 
day Gus Baldwin and Dr. Ilarbin dropped in to dinner, and 
we drank your good healtli and many more returns in 
health and happiness of the 15th of May. I did not tell 
them that you wei'e forty, for it might be tliat some time 
or other you would not care to liave them know it, and I 
am sure they would never suspect it unless told. In truth 
I can scarcely realize it myself, as you are the same lovely 



DOMESTIC LIFE OF TOOMBS. 355 

and loving, true-liearted Avoman to me, that you were 

when I made you my bride, nearly twenty-three years ago. 

There is no other change except the superior loveliness of 

the full blown over the budding rose. I have thrown my 

mind this quiet Sunday evening over that large segment 

of human life (twenty-tiiree years) since we were married, 

and whatever of happiness memory has treasured up 

clusters around you. In life's struggle I have been what 

men call fortunate. I have won its wealth and its honors, 

but I have won them by labor, and toil, and strife, whose 

memory saddens even success ; but the pure joys of 

wedded love leave none but pleasant recollections which 

one can dwell upon with delight. These thoughts are 

dearer to me than to most men, because I know for Avhat- 

evel- success in life I may have had, whatever evil I may 

have avoided, or whatever good I may have done, I am 

mainly indebted to the beautiful, pure, true-hearted little 

black-eyed girl, who on the 18th of November, 1830, came 

trustingly to my arms, the sweetest and dearest of wives. 

You need not fear, therefore, that I shall forget your 

birthday. That and our bridal-day are tlie brightest in 

my calendar, and memory will not easily part with 

them. 

Yours, 

Toombs. 

So well known Avas this domestic trait of jNIr. 
Toombs that Bishop Beck\\'ith of Georgia, in 
delivering;: his funeral sermon, declared that " no 
knio-ht, watch ino- his sword before the altar, ever 
made a holier, truer, or purer vow than when 
Kobert Toombs stood at the marriage altar 
more than fifty years ago. The fire that burned 
upon the altar of his home remained as pure 



356 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

and unfailing as tlie perpetual offering of Jeru- 
salem," 

Mrs. Toombs was a woman of warm lieart and 
strong convictions. She was noted for her benevo- 
lence and piety, and these she carried through 
life. Her Christian example was a steadying in- 
fluence often in the stormy and impetuous career 
of her husband, and finally, when she had closed 
her eyes in peace, brought him to the altar \A'here 
she had worshiped. Her household and her 
neighbors loved to be under her influence. No 
one who ever saw her fine face, or her lustrous 
dark eyes, forgot her. Her face ^vas, in some 
respects, not unlike that of her husband. It is the 
best tribute that can be paid to her to say that for 
more than fifty years her influence over so strong 
a character as that of Roljert Toombs Avas most 
potent. In June, 1856, while driving in Augusta, 
the horses attached to the carriage ran away, and 
Mrs. Toombs was thrown from the vehicle and 
sustained a fracture of the hip. General Toombs 
hastened to Georgia from Congress, and. remained 
incessantly at her bedside for several weeks. In 
November, 1880, General and Mrs. Toombs cele- 
brated their golden wedding, surrounded by their 
grandchildren and friends. It was a beautiful 
sight to see the bride of half a century with a new 
wedding ring upon her finger, playing the piano, 
while the old man of seventy essayed, like Wash- 



DOMESTIC LIFE OF TOOMBS. 357 

ington, to dance the minuet. Tlie old couple 
surv^ived their three children, and lived to bless 
the lives of grandchildren and great-grandchil- 
dren. They were fond and affectionate par- 
ents. 

A friend, who had known them in their own 
home, describes "the great fire in the open fire- 
place; on one side the venerable statesman, with 
that head which always seemed to me of such rare 
beauty ; on the other side, the quiet wife busy 
with home afliairs, her eyes lighting, now and then, 
the. wonderful conversation that fell from his elo- 
quent lips." 

General Toondjs was a liberal provider for his 
family, and his grandchildren and connections were 
constant objects of his bounty. Large sums were 
spent in charity. No church or benevolent insti- 
tution appealed to him in vain. His house was 
open, and his hospitality ^vas princely and prover- 
bial. No one \vas more genial at home. Few 
prominent persons ever visited Washington ^vith- 
out being entertained by Toombs. His regular 
dimiers to the bar of the circuit, as, twice a year, 
the hiwyei'S came to Washington to court, are re- 
membered by scores of Georgians to-day. On one 
occasion when the townspeople ^vere discussing 
the need of a hotel, General Toombs indignantly 
replied that thei'e was no need for any such place. 
"If a respectable man conies to to^vn," said he, 



358 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

" lie can stay at my house. If lie isn't respectable, 
we don't want liim here at all." 

No relio-ious conference could meet in AVasli- 
iuo-ton that the Toombs house was not full of 
guests. Many Northern people visited the place 
to hear the statesman talk. Newspaper corre- 
spondents sought him out to listen to his fine con- 
versation. These people were always sure of the 
most courteous treatment, and were prepared for 
the most candid expression. Genei'al Toombs was 
not solely a raconteur. He did not draw upon his 
memory for his wit. The cream of his conversa- 
tion was his bold and original comment. His wit 
flashed all along the line. His speech at times 
was droll and full of quaint provincialisms. He 
treated subjects spontaneously, in a style all his 
own. Strangers, who sat near him in a railroad 
car, have been enchanted by his sage and spirited 
conversation, as his leonine features lighted up, and 
his irresistible smile and kindly eye forced good- 
humor, even where his sentiments might have 
challenged dissent. He was the finest talker of 
his day. A close friend, who used to visit him 
frequently at his home, dechires that Toombs' 
powers did not wait upon the occasion. He did 
not require an emergency to bring him out. All 
his faculties were alert, and in a morning's chat he 
would pour out the riches of memory, humor, 
elo(pU'nce, and logic until the listener w^ould be 



DOMESTIC LIFE OF TOOMBS. 359 

entliralled by his Ijrilliaucy and power. He de- 
lighted to talk with intellectual men and women. 
He was im})atient with triflers or dolts. He crit- 
icised unsparingly, and arraigned men and measures 
summarily, but he was a seeker after truth, and 
even when severe, was free from malice or envy. 

General Toombs was a man of tender sympa- 
thies. Distress, of his friends moved him to prompt 
relief. In 1855 a friend and kinsman, Mr. Pope, 
died in Alahama. He had been a railroad con- 
tractor and liis affairs were much involved. Gen- 
eral Toombs promptly went t<^ his place, bought 
in his jH'operty for the family, and left the })lace 
for the wife and children, just as it stood. From- 
Mobile he writes a grief-stricken letter to his wife, 
December 28, 1855 : 

I feel tliat T nnist pour out ray sorrows to someone, and 
wliom else c;in I look to but to one who, ever faithful and 
true, has had my wliole heart from my youth till now ? 
This has been one of the dark and sad days of my life. 
Tlic remains of my lost friend ]Mr. Pope came down on the 
ears tliis morning. I met them alone at the depot, except 
(ins. Bahlwin and the hired hr.nds. This eveniiio- I accom- 
panied the remains to the boat. Oh, it was so sad to see 
one whom so many people professed to love, in a strange 
place, conveyed by hirelings and deposited like merchan- 
dise among tlie freight of a steamboat on the way to his 
long hoine. I can scarcely write now, at the thought, 
through tiie blindness of my own tears. As I saw him 
placed in the apjiointed spot among the strangers and 
bustle of a departing boat, careless of who or what he was, 



360 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

I stole away to the most retired part of the boat, to conceal 
the weakness of friendship and relieve my overburdened 
heart with a flood of tears. I felt it would be a profana- 
tion of friendship even to be seen to feel in such a crowd. 
But for my overwhelming duty to the living I would have 
taken the boat and gone on with his remains. This is the 
end of the just in this world. He was a good and an up- 
right man ; never gave ofl^ense to a human being. ITis 
family are ruined, but his only fault was w^ant of judgment, 
and too great confidence in his kind. He could not make 
money, and it really seemed that his every effort to do so 
plunged him deeper into debt. His great fault was a con- 
cealment of his own difficulties and trials. I would have 
done anything to have relieved them upon a full disclosure. 
He was idolized at home, and I have wept at the sorrows 
of the poor people in his employment, upon the very men- 
'tion of his death. I know I cannot control my grief aTid 
am sensitive of my ow^n weakness. I could not find relief 
without pouring out ni}' sorrows to j'ou. There let them 
rest. Yours, 

^Toombs. 

General Toombs resided in a three-story frame 
house ill Washington, built after the manner of 
the olden time, with the spacious piazza, heavy 
columns, the wide door, and the large rooms. He 
lived in ease and comfort. He was an early riser, 
and after breakfast devoted himself to business or 
correspondence. At midday he was accessible to 
visitors, and rarely dined alone. In the afternoon 
he walked or drove. At night he sat in his arm- 
chair at his fireside, and in his lips invariably 
carried an unlit cigar. Smoking did not agree 



DOMESTIC LIFE OF TOOMBS. 3G1 

with him. AVhile iu Europe lie delighted to test 
the tobacco of the different countries, but the 
practice always gave him pain above the eyes. His 
last attempt was in the army of Virginia. Con- 
vinced that smoking injured him, he never re- 
sumed it. Fond of his dry smoke, he had a pe- 
culiar cigar made to order, very closely wrapped, 
with fine tobacco. 

General Toombs made frequent trips away from 
home, even during the latter part of his life. The 
State retained his services in important cases. 
One of his last public acts was the prosecution of 
certain railway companies for back taxes. He 
recovered thousands of dollars to the State. He 
was sunuuoned to Atlanta in 1 880 to prosecute a 
defaulting State treasurer. He appeared very 
feeble, but his speech was a model of clearness 
and logic. During the latter part of his life there 
was a return of his early fault of quick, nervous, 
compressed speech. He grasped only the great 
hillocks of thought and left the intervening ground 
to be filled by the listener. His terse, rapid style 
was difficult to follow. As a presiding judge said, 
" His leaps are like a kangaroo's, and his speech 
gave me the headache." But his argument in the 
Jack Jones case was a model of eloquence and con- 
vincing- law. A larsre number of friends attended 
the court, convinced that General Toombs was 
Hearing the end of his great career, and were as- 



362 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

touncled at tlie manner in wliieli lie delivered liis 
argnnient. As lie' concluded Lis address lie turned 
in Lis place and caiiglit tlie eye of Rev. Fatlier J, 
M. O'Brien, an old friend of Lis. "Wliy, FatLer 
O'Brien," Le said, wringing Lis Land, " I am glad 
to see you taking an interest in tLis case. Tliese 
people are trying to usurp your functions. Tliey 
want to grant tlie defendant absolution." " But, 
General," replied tlie quick-witted priest, " even I 
could not grant al^solution until Le Lad made res- 
titution." '' Tliat's tlie doctrine," said tlie deligLted 
lawyer, pleased to find tLat tlie point of Lis speecli 
Lad taken so ^vell. His face was all aglow witli 
tlie gaudia cericiminis of tLe forum. TLis was Lis 
last appearance in court, and Le won Lis case. 

His motlier Georsfia claimed Lis allei»:iance al- 
ways, and Le gave Ler his last and best powers. 
He worked for tLe commonwealtli, and gave tLe 
people more tLaii lie ever received in return. 

In Augusta, in 1871, wLeii lie appeared before 
tlie Georo-ia Railroad Commission and arraigned 
tlie lease of tlie State road as illegal and uii- 
Lallo^ved, lie declared in a burst of indignation ; 
" I w^ould ratlier be buried at tLe public expense 
tlian to leave a dirty sliilling." It was tlie acme 
of Lis desire to live and die like a gentleman. 

He Lad always been a safe financier. Scorning 
wealtli, lie Lad early found liimself w^ealtliy. It is 
estimated tliat lie made more tliaii a million dol- 



DOMESTIC LIFE OF TOOMBS. 363 

lars by liis law practice after the war. He speut 
his money freely, careful always to avoid debt. 
Further than tins, he kept no account of his 
means. Like Astor, he invested much of his hold- 
ings in land, and owned a large number of fine 
plantations in middle Georgia. When he died 
his estate probably reached two hundred thou- 
sand dollars. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

HIS GEEAT FAULT. 

No just biography of Robert Toombs can be 
written that does not take into notice the blemishes 
as well as the brightness of his character. He was 
a man on a grand scale. His virtues were heroic, 
his faults were conspicuous. Xo man despised 
hypocrisy more than he did, and no one would 
have asked any sooner to be painted as lie was, 
without concealment. During the latter part of 
his life, many people knew him principally by his 
faults. Few knew what the wayward Prince Hal 
of the evening had been to King Henry in the 
morning hour. Like Webster and Clay, he was 
made up of human frailty. As his intimate friend, 
Samuel Barnett, said of him : '' In spite of splen- 
did physique, a man of blood and passion, he was 
not only a model of domestic virtue, but he 
avoided the lewd talk to whicli many prominent 
men are addicted. A fine sportsman and rider, a 
splendid shot, he was nothing of the racer or 
gamester. After all, he was more of a model than 
a warning." Among his faults, the one which ex- 
aggerated all the others, was his use of ardent 

304 



III8 GREAT FAULT. 365 

li(|iiors. This liabit grew upon him, especially 
after the failure of the Vv'ar. A [)roiul, imperious 
nature, accustomed to great lal)ors and great re- 
sponsibilities, was left without its main resource 
and supplied ^vith the stimulus of wine. No man 
needed that stimulus less than he did. His was a 
manhood vibrant in age with the .warm blood of 
youth, and ahvays at its best when his spirits and 
intellect alone were at play. He was easily 
affected by the smallest indulgence. When he 
measured himself with others, glass for glass, the 
result was distressing, disastrous. The immediate 
effect of excess was short. The next morning his 
splendid vitality asserted itself, and he was bright 
and clear as ever. The habit, ho^vever, grew upon 
him. The want of a physical check was bad. 
This was the worst of all his faults, and was 
exaggerated by special circumstances. It was less 
indulged in at home and greatly circulated abroad. 
Frequently the press reporters would surround 
him and expose in the papers a mere caricature 
of him. His talk, when under the influence of 
^vine, was racy, extravagant, and fine, and his say- 
ings too often found their way into print. In this 
way great injustice Avas done to the life and char- 
acter of Robert Toombs, and Northern men Avho 
read these quaint sayings and redolent vaporings 
formed a distorted idea of the man. 

To a Northern correspondent who approached 



366 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

him (luring one of these periods, General Toombs 
said : " Yes, a gentleman whose intelligence revolts 
at usurpations must abstain from discussing the 
principles and policies of your Federal government, 
or receive the kicks of crossroad sputterers and 
press re[)orters ; must either lie or be silent. 
They know only how to bra^vl and scrawl ' hot- 
head ' and ' impolitic maniac' Why, my free 
negroes know more than all your bosses. Now, 
damn it, put that in your paper." 

Robert Toombs was built to live ninety years, 
and to have been, at Gladstone's age, a Gladstone 
in power. He took little pains to explain his real 
nature. He seemed to take pains to conceal or 
mislead. He appeared at times to hide his better 
and expose his worse side. If he had been Byron, 
he would have put forward his deformed foot. 
He was utterly indifferent to posthumous fame. 
Time and a«:ain he was asked to have his letters 
and speeches compiled for print, but he would 
never hear of it. He waived these suggestions 
away with the sententious remark, " that his life 
was written on the pages of his country's history." 
With all his faults, his were strong principles and 
generous impulses. " We kno^\^ something of what 
he yielded, but we know nothing of what he re- 
sisted." Include his strength and his weakness 
and measure him by other men, and we have a man 
of giant mold. 



niS GREAT FAULT. 3G7 

Oue who was very uear to Toombs iu bis lust 
days said of him w^heu he was dead: "It was 
a thing of sorrow to see this Diajestic old man 
pausing to measure his poor strength Avith a con- 
firmed habit, rising, struggling, falling, and pray- 
ins: as he drifted on." 

General Toombs used to say that Webster was 
the greatest man he ever knew, that Clay managed 
men better, and Calhoun was the finest logician of 
the century. " The two most eloquent men I ever 
heard were Northern men," said he ; " Choate and 
Prentiss." " Pierce," he used to say, " was the 
most complete gentleman I ever saw iu the White 
House. He was clever and correct. Zachary 
Taylor w^as the most ignorant. It ^vas amazing 
how little he knew. Van Bureu was shrewd 
rather than sagacious. Tyler was a beautiful 
speaker, but AVebster declared that a man who 
made a pretty speech was fit for nothing else." 

Toombs met Abraham Lincoln while he was in 
Cono-ress. He related that Mr. Lincoln once 
objected to sitting down at table because he was 
the thirteenth man. Toombs told him that it was 
better to die than to be a victim to suj^erstition. 
At the LEampton Roads Conference, President 
Lincoln expressed to Judge Campbell his con- 
fidence in the honesty and ability of Robert 
Toombs. He was a great reader. General Toombs 
often said that if the whole English literature 



368 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

were lost, and tlie Bible and Shakespeare remained, 
letters would not be nmcli the poorer. Shake- 
speare was his standard. lie ^^'as fond of Swe. 
denborg, and in his early youth relished Tom 
Paine. 
y General Toombs had a great affinity for young 
men, upon whom he exerted a great influence. He 
once said to a party of friends that gand^ling was 
the worst of evils because it impoverished the 
pocket while it corrupted the mind. " How about 
drinking, General ? " he was asked. " Well, if a 
man is old and rich he may drink, for he will have 
the sympathy of his sober friends and the sup 
port of his drinking ones." 



CHxiPTER XXXI. 

HIS LAST DAYS. 

In 1880 General Toombs appeared in Atlanta, 
and addressed the Georgia Legislatnre in belialf 
of tlie candidacy of General A. 11. La^vton for the 
United States Senate. His appearance, as he 
walked up the aisle, grim, venerable, and deter- 
mined, awoke wild applause. He preserved his 
power of stirring the people whenever he spoke, 
but his speech was not as racy and clear as it had 
been. " This was one of the occasions," to quote 
from a distinguished critic of Toombs, " when the 
almost extinct volcano glowed again Avith its 
wonted fires — when the ivy-mantled keep of the 
crumbling castle resumed its pristine defiance with 
deep-toned culverin and ponderous mace; when, 
amid the colossal fragments of the tottering temple, 
men recognized the unsubdued spirit of Samson 
Agonistes." 

His last public speech was in September, 1884, 
when the people of Washington carried him the 
news of Cleveland's election to the Presidency. 
He came to his porch and responded briefly, al- 
most inaudibly, to the serenade, but he was full of 
the gratification which Southern people felt over 

;569 



370 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

tliat event. He declared tliat lie did not know 
tLat tliere was enougli maubootl iu tlie coimtiy 
as to break loose from party ties and elect a 
President. The fact liad reviv^ed his hope for the 
whole country. He had, before this, taken a 
gloomy view of the nation. He had, on one occa- 
sion, declared that the injection into the body pol- 
itic of three million savages had made good gov- 
ernment forever impossible. He had afterward 
said that the American Constitution rested solely 
upon the good faith of the people, and that Avould 
hardly bind together a great people of diverse in- 
terests. " Since 1850," he once said, " I have never 
believed tliis Union to be perpetual. The expe- 
rience of tlie last Avar will deter any faction from 
soon making an eifort at secession. Had it not 
been for this, there would have been a collision in 
1876." But the election of Cleveland he regarded 
as a national, rather than a sectional victory — a 
, non-partisan triiunph in fact ; and it was at this 
time, the first occasion since the war, that he ex- 
pressed regret that he had not regained his citizen- 
ship and gone back into public life. 

But his great power had Ijegun to wane. His 
tottering gait and hesitating speech pointed un- 
mistakably to speedy dissolution. The new-born 
hope for his country came just as his steps neared 
"the silent, solemn shore of that vast ocean he 
must sail so soon." 



niS LAST DATS. 371 

In March, 1883, General Toombs was summoned 
to Atlanta to attend the funeral of his lifehjng 
friend Mr. Stephens. The latter had been an in- 
valid for forty years, but was kept in active life 
by the sheer force of his indomitable ^v ill. Emerg- 
ing from the war a prisoner, he had finally secured 
his release and had been elected United States 
Senator. Being prevented from taking his seat, 
he had returned home and finished his constitu- 
tional review of the " AYar Between the States." 
In 1873 he had been reelected to Congress, where 
he had remained for ten years, resigning this posi- 
tion to accept the nomination for Governor of 
Georgia, which his party had offered him at a 
critical moment. It had been the desire of the 
" Great Commoner " to " die in harness," and there 
is no doubt that his close attention to the arduous 
duties of Governor hastened his death. Thousands 
of Georgians repaired to the State Capitol to 
honor his memory, but he who attracted most at- 
tention was the gray and grief-stricken companion 
^vllo stood by the coffin of the man he had honored 
for fifty years. Mr. Stephens, in his diary, recalls 
the fact that his first meeting with Mr. Toombs 
was in court, when the latter generously ottered to 
lend him money and look after his practice so that 
Stephens could take a trip for his health. 

Like Damon and Pythias, these two men were 
bound by the strongest ties. They entered public 



372 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

life together in tlie General Assembly of Georgia. 
Together they rode tlie circuits as young attorneys, 
and each was rewarded about the same time w^ith 
a seat in the national councils. Both were con- 
spicuous in the ante-heUuiR agitation, and both ^Aere 
prominent in the Civil War. As age advanced 
their relations were closer still. 

General Tooml^s at the funeral of his friend pro- 
nounced a eulogium on the dead. His words 
were tremulous, and the trooping, tender memories 
of half a century crowded into the anguish of that 
moment. Toombs and ' Stephens, so long united 
in life, were not long parted in death. 

In September, 1883, Mrs. Toombs died at her 
summer residence in Clarkesville, Ga. Their de- 
voted friend, Dr. Steiner, was with them at the 
time, and rendered the doul)le offices of family 
physician and sympathetic friend. Between these 
two men there had been a warm and long friend- 
ship. Dr. Steiner talked with General Toombs 
about his spiritual condition. A godly man him- 
self, the doctor thought that he might remove any 
doubts that might linger in the mind of the 
stricken husband. He was gratified to hear that 
the way was clear. " Why, doctor," said General 
Toombs, " I am a prayerful man. I read the Bible 
and the Prayer Book every day." ''Then why not 
be baptized, General ? " " Baptize me, doctor," 
was his prompt reply. Dr. Steiner answered that 



Ills LAST DATS. 373 

there was no immediate need of tliat. The gen- 
eral was in good health. Dr. Steiner had l3ap- 
tized patients, he said, but it was in times of 
emergency. It was the desire gf General Toombs 
to be baptized at the bedside of his wife. In a 
short time Robert Toombs was in commnnion with 
the Southern Methodist Church. It was his wife's 
beautiful example, "moving beside that soaring, 
stormy spirit, praying to God for blessings on it," 
which brought him to a confession of his faith, 
and left him in full fellowship with God's people. 
General Toombs' health commenced visibly to 
fail after his wife's death, and the loss of Mr. Ste- 
phens made life lonely. His younger brother 
Gabriel, himself in the shadow of a great affliction, 
was with him constantly. They were devotedly 
attached to each other. Mr. Gabriel Toombs is, in 
personal appearance, very much like his brother. 
The long, iron-gray hair, brushed straight out from 
his head, reminds one of Robert Toombs. He is 
smaller in stature, and is a man of sti'oug 
abilities, even temperament, and well-balanced 
mind. His bi-other had great regard for his l)usi- 
ness judgment and political sagacity, and often 
consulted him on public matters. These men 
lived near each other in A\'ashington, their fam- 
ilies grew up together, and General Toombs re- 
orarded his brother's children almost as he did 
his own. 



3V4 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

On tLe SOtli of September, 1885, Robert 
Toombs was confined to his Louse b}^ illness. It 
was a general breaking clown of Lis ^vliole system. 
It was evident .that Le was nearing Lis end. 
During Lis last illness Lis mind would wander, 
and tlien Lis faculties would return witL singular 
clearness. He suffered little pain. As Henry 
Grady said of Lim, it seemed tLat tLis kingly 
p(^wer and great vitality, wliicL Lad subdued 
everytliing else, would finally conquer deatli. His 
ruling instinct was strong in dissolution. He still 
preserved to tlie last Lis faculty of grasping witL 
ease public situations, and " framing tei'se epi- 
grams, wLicL Le tLrew out like proverbs." 

During one of Lis lucid intervals Le asked for 
tLe news. He was told ; " General, tlie Georgia 
Legislature Las not yet adjourned." 

" Lord, send for Cromwell," Le answered, as Le 
turned on Lis pillow. 

AnotLer time Le was told tLat tLe ProLibition- 
ists ^vere Lolding an election in tlie town. " Pi'o- 
Libitionists," said Le, " are men of small pints." 

His mind at tliis period dwelt mainly on seri- 
ous tLouglits. TLe Bible was read to Lim daily. 
He ^vas ])erfectly aware of Lis condition. He 
said to Dr. Steiner : " Looking over my broad 
field of life, I Lave not a resentment. I would not 
pang a Leart." 

He talked in Lis delirium of Mr. Stephens and 



BIS LAST DATS. 375 

Dr. Steiner. The latter recalled liim and said : 
" General, I am here by your side ; Mr. Stephens, 
you know, has crossed over the river." Coming 
to himself, he said : " Yes, I know I am fast pass- 
ing away. Li&'s fitful fever will soon be over. I 
would not Ijlot out a single act of my life." 

Dr. Steiner declared that he never befort^ real- 
ized so fully the appropriateness of Mr. Stephens' 
tribute to Toombs ; " llis was the greatest mind 
I ever came in contact with. Its operations, even 
in its errors, remind me of a mighty waste of 
waters." 

AVhen the time came for Dr. Steiner to return 
to llis home in Augusta, General Toomljs bade 
him good-by. 1 am sorry," said he, " the hour is 
come. I hope we shall meet in a better place." 

After Thursday, Decem])er 10, General Toombs 
did not regain consciousness. On Monday, De- 
cember 15, 18^5, at () o'clock P. .al, he breathed his 
last. Just as the daikness of a winter evening 
stole over the land the great spirit of the states- 
man walked into eternal light. 

He Avas buried on Thursday, December 18, at 
twelve o'clock. The funeral exercises were held 
in the little brick jNlethodist church where his 
wife and daughter had Avorshi])ed. 

The funeral was simple, according to his wishes. 
A large number of pul)lic men in Georgia attended 
the services. Dr. llillyer, a prominent Baptist 



3'!'6 ROBERT TOOMBS. 

divine and classmate of General Toombs, assisted 
in tlie services, Kt. Eev. John W. Beckw^ith, Epis- 
copal Bishop of Georgia, who had been his closest 
religious adviser after the death of the Methodist 
Bishop George F. Pierce, delivered a beautiful 
eulogium. 

The remains were interred in the Washino-ton 
cemetery, by the side of the body of his wife. A 
handsome marble shaft, bearing the simple and 
speaking inscription '' Eobert Toombs," marks the 
sj^ot which is sacred to all Georgians. 



TIEE END. 



INDEX. 



Abolitionists, election of "Inde- 
pendent Democrats " by, 109 ; 
in campaign of 1850, 140; 
elTect of Dred Scott case on, 159 

Aciiison, David R., leader iu 
U. S. Senate, 107 

Act of 1789, claim for enforce- 
ment of, 73-76 

Adams, John Q., compact with 
Clay, 14 ; charge of corruption 
against, 55; member of Twenty- 
ninth Congress, 56 

Alabama, delegates withdraw 
from Charleston convention, 
177 ; secession of, 313 ; escape 
through, 301-303 

Alabama, escape on the, 305 

Alexander, W. F.. joins in Euro- 
]K;an trip, 125 ; appointed 
Quartermaster-major, 237 

Alexander, Mrs. W. F., death, 
313 

Ali(ms, Toombs' welcome for, 
150, 151 

Alps, visit to the, 126 

American party, rise, 121; op- 
posed and denounced by 
Toombs, 124, 128, 147, 149; 
successes and defeats in 1855, 
128; nominates Fillmore, 140; 
opposition to Toombs' part3^ 
143; principles, 148; nominates 
Hill for governorship of 
Georgia, 155; downfall, 158 

Amsterdam, visit to, 126 

Anderson, Major, besieged at 
Fort Sumter, "227-229 

Andrews, Judge, defeated for 
governorship of Georgia, 138 

Andrews' Grove, debate between 
Toombs and Hill in, 145-152 



Antietam, battle of, 263-269 

Anti-railroad agitation, 26 

Appleton, Nathan, entertains 
Toombs at Boston, 130 

Appleton, William, entertains 
Toombs at Boston, 130 

Arkansas, delegates leave 
Charleston convention, 177; 
secedes, 333 

Army Appropriation bill, debate 
between Toombs and Davis on, 
247-349 

Army of Northern Virginia, 5, 
262 

Army of Potomac, defeated be- 
fore Richmond, 246 

Articles of Confederation, bear- 
ing on slavery question, 132 

Athens, University at, 7-12 

Atlanta, quarrel between Ste- 
phens and Cone in, 62; in the 
field before, 276; political 
meeting at, 324 

Atlanta San, edited by Stephens, 
333 

Atlantic cable, opposes apijropri- 
ation for, 194 

Augusta, Ga., speeches at, 47- 
50, 165-168 

Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, 
defends Toombs, 186 

Baltimore, delegate to Clay con- 
ventional, 46; Whig convention 
at, 97 ; Democratic convention 
at, 97 

Baltimore convention, the, ac- 
tion in regard to Georgia dele- 
gations, 183 

Banking, position on, 33, 39 

Bank of the United States, 33 



377 



378 



INDEX. 



Bar, admission to the, 13 

Barnett, Samuel, frames railroad 
law, 351 ; tribute to Toombs, 
364 

Bartow, Francis S., deputy to 
Provisional Congress, 215 

Bayard, James A., leader in U. 
S. Senate, 107 ; member of 
Charleston convention, 176 ; 
presides over seceders from 
Charleston convention, 178 

Beaverdam Creek, 3 

Beckwith, Bishop John W., eulo- 
gium on Toombs, 355, 376 

Bell, John, leader in U. S. 
Senate, 107 ; vote on Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, 115 ; nominated 
for Presidency, 183 ; vote in 
Georgia for, 184 

Benjamin, Judah P., Attornej^ 
General of Confederate States, 
221 ; legal practice in England, 
310 

Beniiiiig, Col., assumes command 
of Toombs' brigade, 268 

Benton, Thomas H., on disunion, 
81 

Berrien, John INI., censured by 
Georgia Democrats, 39 ; repre- 
sents Georgia in U. S. Senate, 
68 ; in campaign of 1851, 93, 
94 

Bill of Rights, in Constitutional 
convention, 345 

Bird, Edge;, reunion with 
Toombs, 298, 299 

Black, Edward J., opposes 
Toombs in campaign of 1844, 
53 

Blaine, J. G., characterization of 
Tooml)s' farewell speech in 
Senate, 205 ; on bombardment 
of Sumter, 229 ; on ravages of 
Confederate ships, 232 ; ob- 
jects to Toombs' restoration to 
citizenship, 313 

Blair, Fraidv P., nominated fur 
Vice-i)residcncy, 324 

Blockade of Southei-n ports, 229 

Bonds, repudiation of outlawed, 
343, 344 



Boston, lecture in, 129-135 

Boston Journal, on Toombs' lec- 
ture, 131 

Boyd Amendment, 80 

Braddock, Gen., massacre of his 
conunand, 1 

Bragg, Gen., opposed by 
Toombs and Linton Stephens, 
274 

Breckenridge, John C, elected 
vice president, 152; nomi- 
nated for Presidency, 183; vote 
in Georgia for. 184; last attend- 
ance at Confederate Cabinet, 
282 

Bright, John, restrains recf)g- 
nitiou of Confederacy, 232, 
233 

Broderick, Senator, eulogized by 
Toombs, 336 

Brooks, Preston S., assaults 
Sumner, 141, 142; reelected, 
142 

Brown, John, raid on Harper's 
Ferry, 169; execution, 169; in- 
tlueiice of, 170; Toombs' cliar- 
aclcrizaiion of his raid, 172, 
173 

Brown, Joseph E., nominated 
for governorship of Georgia, 
154; rise of, 156, 157; su import- 
ed by Toombs, 157; ability, 
158; elected governor, 158; can- 
didate for reelection to gov- 
ernorship, 166; seizes Fort 
Pulaski, 214; opposes Con- 
scription and Impressment 
Acts, 273; commended • by 
Toombs, 278; parting with 
Toombs, 281; joins Republican 
]iarty, 290; strained relations 
with Toombs, 333-336 

Browne, AV. i\I., Confederate As- 
sistant Secretary of State, 237 

Brussels, visit to, 126 

Buchanan, James, on Kansas- 
Kebraska bill, 114, 115; nomi- 
nated for I'residency, 141; 
('l(;cte(l, 152; position on Terri- 
torial question, 159; dissolution 
of Cabinet, 199 



INDEX. 



379 



Bullock, Gov., 317, 320, 331 
Bunker Hill Monument, denial 
of speech about slave roll-call, 
at, 119 
Burt, Arniistead, member of 

Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 
Bush Arbor meeting, 324-327 
Butler, Benjamin F., menV)er of 

Ciiarlestou convention, 176 
Butler, Senator, Sumner's stric- 
tures on, 142 

Callioun, John C, compared with 
Toombs, 14 ; as a lawyer, 16 ; 
conflict with Jackson, 29 ; 
admiration of Toombs for, 3J , 
104, 307; railroad schemes of, 
41; arraigned for the " sugar 
letter," 46 ; characterization of 
acquired Mexican territory, 67 ; 
last efforts of, 68, 79, 107 

California, acquisition of, 67 ; 
question of admission of, 77- 
81, S') ; Toombs' ideas on ex- 
clusion of slavery from, 91 ; 
supi)orts the South in Charles 
ton convention, 177 

Cameron, Simon, criticised by 
Toombs, 197 

Canada, favors purchase of, 
195 

Caribbean Sea, advocates making 
•A iiHire chtnsuiii, 196 

Carlyle, Thomas, view of the 
Civil War, 233; T<)omI)s' inter- 
views with, 310 

Oflss, Lewis, defeated for the 
Presidency, 63 ; leader in U. 
S. Senate, 107 ; enmity to, by 
Norlliern men, 118 

Catlett, Miss, 3 

Central America, favors purchase 
of, 195 

Centreville, Johnston's advance 
to, 238 ; Toombs' retreat from, 
239; escape of Toomljs through, 
292 

Chandler, Daniel, 9 

Cliarles 1., legend of Toombs' 
ancestors and, 1, 2, 156 

Charleston, S. C, Yancey's 



speech in, 178 ; excitement at 
bombardment of Sumter, 227 

Cliurleston convention, the, 175- 
181 

Charlton, Robert M., Democratic 
leader, 51 ; opposition to 
Toombs, 95 

Chase, Salmon P., represents 
Ohio in U. S. Senate, 08. 
107 ; an " Independent Demo- 
crat," 109 ; vote on Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, 115 

Chattahoochee llivcr, Toombs' 
escape by, 301 

Chenault, Nick. 288 

Cherokee County, sends Brown 
to State Senate, 157 

Chickahominy River, Johnston's 
retreat Viehind, 245 

Chickamaiiga, dispute between 
Gen. Hill and Gen. Walker at 
battle of, 258, 259 

Clioate. Rufus, Toombs on, 307 

Cilley duel, the, 55 

Cincinnati Platform of 1850, 141, 
165 

Civil war, Toombs' hori-or of, 
120; opening of the, 227. 

Clarke, Gen. John, feud with 
Crawford, 29, 30 

Clarkesville, Ga. , summer resi- 
dence at, 372 

Clav, Henry, 14 ; Toombs' opin- 
ion of, 38, 50, 104, 367 ; nomi- 
nated for Presidency, 40 ; 
Compromise measures, 52, 79 ; 
opposition to, in campaign of 
1844, 54, 55 ; popularity, 55 ; 
position in campaign of 1848, 
00 ; ()i>inion on disposition of 
ae(iuired territory, 07 ; last 
efforts of , 68 ; the "Omnibus 
bill," 80; death, 107 ; denies 
framing the Missouri Compro- 
mise, 113; position on internal 
improvements, 188 ; his loss 
felt, 201 

Clay and Adams compact, the, 
14 

Clavton Compromise, the, 01, 02, 
04 

/ 



380 



INDEX. 



Cleveland, Grover, Toombs' 
speech on election of, 370 

Cobb, Gov. Howell, as a lawyer, 
16, 20, 21 ; Denioci-atic leader, 
51 ; member of Twenty-uinth 
Consjress, 56 ; elected Speaker 
of House of Representatives, 
69 ; position on admission of 
California, 81 ; position on dis- 
union, 82 ; nominated for gov- 
ernorship, 80 ; characteristics 
of, 87 ; in campaign of 1851, 
92 ; elected governor, 93 ; 
opinion of Joseph E. Brown, 
155 ; indorses seceders from 
Charleston convention, 179 ; 
prominence of, 186 ; deputy to 
Provisional Congress, 215 ; 
president of Provisional Con- 
gress, 216 ; addresses meeting 
at Atlanta, 324 

Cobb, Thomas R. R., zeal for 
secession, 212; deputy to Pro- 
visional Congress, 215 

Cobb, Thomns W., guardian of 
Robert Toombs, 7,^8 

College discipline, 8, 9 

Collins «. Central R. R. & 
Banking Co., case argued by 
Toombs, 346 

Colquitt, Walter T., elected U. 
S. Senator, 38 ; Democratic 
leader, 51 

Columbia County, legal practice 
in, 15 

Columbia River, boundary line 
of, 57 

Commerce, Toombs' views on 
the ]"tower to regulate, 189 

Committee on Banking, General 
Assemt)ly, chairman of, 33 

Committee on Internal Improve- 
ments, General Assembly, 
member of, 33 ; chairman of, 
40 

Committee on State of the 
Republic, General Assembly, 
chairman of, 33 

Committees, views on legislation 
through, 196 

Compromise bill, the, 52 



Compromise of 1850, the, 67-82 ; 
indonsed by Whig and Demo- 
cratic conventions at Baltimore, 
97 ; Gen. Scott's position on, 
103 

Cone, Francis H., as a lawyer, 
16 ; opposed to Toombs at the 
l)ar, 25 ; quarrel with Stephens, 
62 

Confederacy, last days of the, 
280-284 

Confederate commissioners, mis- 
sion to Washington, 222-224, 
sent to Europe, 229 

Confederate navy, captures by, 
232 

Confederate States, preparation 
of Constitution for, 219, 220 ; 
appointment of Cabinet, 221 ; 
last meeting of Cabinet, 282 

Conscription and Impressment 
Acts, opposition to, 272, 273 

Constitutional Union partv, 81, 
93, 183 

Constitutional convention, and 
the new constitution of 
Georgia, 337-352 

Conventions, Toombs' opinion 
of, 103, 104, 106 

Corporations, attitude toward, 
346 

Crawford, George W., as a 
lawyer, 16 ; resolution in Whig 
convention of 1848, 60 ; con- 
nection with the Golpliin 
claim, 65 ; retirement of, 66 ; 
presides over State Sovereignty 
convention, 209 

Crawford, Martin J., deputy to 
Provisional Congress. 215 ; 
Confederate commissioner to 
AVashington, 222 

Crawford, William H.. career, 
13, 14, 16 ; feud witii Clarke, 
29, 30 ; heads Whig electoral 
ticket in Georgia, 1848, 60 

Creek War, Toombs' service 
in, 32 ; anecdote of sutler, 
352 

Creole, Toombs' escape on the, 
303, 304 



INDEX. 



381 



Critteuden Compronijse, tlie, 
203, 203 

Cuba, favors purchase of, 195, 
196 ; arrival iu, 307 

Cumberland Gap, railroad 
sclienie for, 41 

Cuminiiig, Major J. B., 259 

Cummings Point battery, fires 
on Fort Sumter, 227 

Cusiiing, Caleb, president of 
Charleston convention, 175 ; 
resigns cliairmanship of Balti- 
more convention, 182 ; pre- 
sides over seceders from IJal- 
timore convention, 183 

Dallas, George M., attitude on 
tariff question, 50 ; Georgia's 
vote for, 55 

Danburg, letter from Toombs to 
constftuents at, 199-201 

Davis, Col., quarrel with Henry 
Clay, 54, 55 

Davis, Jefferson, Toombs' ad- 
vice to, 23 ; member of Twenty- 
ninth Congress, 56 ; on 
Toombs' financial ability, 59 ; 
represents Mississippi in U. S. 
Senate. 68 ; defeated by Foote, 
97 ; debate with Douglas on 
popular sovei'eignty, 163, 164 ; 
personal traits, 163 ; Senates 
resolutions concerning South- 
ern principles, 181 ; election to 
Presidency of Confederate 
States, 217, 218 ; appoints his 
Cabinet, 221 ; belief in Seward, 
223 ; Toombs' opinion of, 241, 
242, 246 ; debate witli Toombs 
on Army Appropriation bill, 
247-249 ; policv and character 
of. 274, 275 ; attends last meet- 
ing of Confederate Cabinet, 
281, 282 ; tribute to Toombs, 
284 ; arrest of, 284 ; last meet- 
ing with Toombs, 284, 285 ; in 
irons, 298 

Davis. John W., elected Speaker 
of Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 

Dawson. William C, as a lawyer, 
16 ; candidate for governor of 



Georda, 37 ; enters U. S. Sen- 
ate, 68 
Deas, Joseph, aids Toombs' es- 
cape, 296 
Declaration of Independence, po- 
sition on slavery question, 132 
Declaration of Paris, accepted by 
Confederate government, 231 
Delaware delegates leave Charles- 
ton convention, 177 
Democratic party, strength in 
Georgia, 30 ; supports central 
bank sclieme, 38 ; censures 
Senator Berrien, 39 ; criticised, 
48 ; carries additional protec- 
tion measure, 51 ; attempt to 
defeat Toombs by, in 1848, 63, 
64 ; elects Cobb Speaker of 
House, 69 ; joint action with 
AYhigs in Georgia, 85 ; conven- 
tion at Baltimore, 97; loss of 
House majority, 121 ; nomi- 
nates Buchanan, 141 ; nominates 
Brown for governor of Geor- 
gia, 154 ; split over Territorial 
question, 166, 167 ; demand for 
new plank in platform, 167 ; 
split among Georgia Democrats, 
182 ; success in State legisla- 
ture, 329 
Depreciation of currency, 31 
District of Columbia, Clay's pro- 
posed abolition of slave trade 
in, 79 ; amendment as to slav- 
ery in, 202 
Disunion, opposition to, 81 ; 

clamor for, 83 
Dooly, Judge, 14 
" Door sill'' speech, the, 170-174. 
Dougherty, Robert, 9 
Douglas, Stephen A., member of 
Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 ; 
enters U. S. Senate, 68 ; leader 
in U. S. Senate, 107 ; intro- 
duces Kansas-Nebraska bill, 
108, 109 ; second bill on Kan- 
sas-Nebraska question, 109 ; 
burned in effigy, 115 ; Presi- 
dential aspirations, 140, 161 ; 
debate with Lincoln, 161, 
162 ; accused of participation 



382 



INDEX. 



Douglas, Stephen A. — Cont'd. 
iu assault on Sumner, 142, 
143; eulogized by Toombs 
148, 149, 164. 165, 167 ; op- 
poses Lecompton constitulioii, 
160 ; indorses Dred Scott deci- 
sion, 160 ; reelected to U. S. 
Senate, 162, 163 ; views on 
popular sovereignty, 163, 164 ; 
resolulioii for protection of 
States against invasion, 170- 
173 ; rupture -with Toomlis, 
181 ; nominated for Presi- 
dency, 182 ; vote in Georgia 
for, 184 

Dred Scott case, 159 

Droomgoole, George C, member 
of Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 

Du Bose, Dudley jM., Toombs' 
adjutant-general, 237; forms 
partnership with Toombs, 316 ; 
sent to Congress, 329 

Du Bose. Mrs.' Dudley M., death 
of, 310 

Du Bose r. Georgia Railroad, 
case argued by Toombs. 340 

Du Quesne, Fort, massacre at, 1 

Eberhart case, the, 25, 26 

Elbert Coiuit}% admission to bnr 
in, 13 ; legal practice in, 15, 
16, 22, 23; popularity in, 22; 
escape through, 288, 289, 
292 

Elberton, Ga., speech at, 89 

Electoral vote, views on count- 
ing, 193, 194 

Einiiiraut Aid Societies, 115-118, 
159 

Enghien, visit to, 309 

England, introduction of slavery 
into Colonies by, 134 

English compromise on Lecomp- 
ton constitution, 164 

Eugenie, Empress, Toombs' in- 
terviews with, 310 

Europe, trip in, 125-128 ; hesi- 
tation of powers in regard to 
the Confederacy, 233 

Evans, Augusta J., aids Toondjs* 
escape, 302, 303 



Evans, Howard, aids Toombs' 

escape, 302. 303 
Everett, Edward, nominated for 

Vice-presidency, 183 

Fanning, Welcome, 6 

Fellon, W. II., opposition to, 
105 

"Fifty-four forty, or fight," 57 

Fillmore, Millard, nominated for 
Vice-presidenc}', 60 ; on repeal 
of Missouri Compromise, 115 ; 
nominated for Pix'sidency, 140 ; 
Toombs' characterization of, 
149, 150 ; electoral vote for, 
152 

Finance Committee of Provisional 
Congress, chairman of, 220 

Fish, llainilton, vole on Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, 115 

Fitzpatrick, Gov., declines nom- 
ination for Vice-presidency, 
182 

Florida, delegates leave Charles- 
ton convention, 177 ; secession 
of, 213 

Foote, Henry S., represents ]\Iis- 
sissippi in U. S. Senate. 68 ; 
elected governor of Mississippi. 
97 ; contest with Davis in Mis- 
sissippi, 163 

"Forbidden Fruit," 67 

Force bill, the, 51 

Foreacre, Supt., frames railroad 
law, 351 

Forensic eloquence, 18, 21, 24, 
25, 27, 28, 361 

Forsyth, John, Confederate com- 
missioner to Washington, 222 

Forsythe, John C. , attitude on 
the Compromise bill, 52 

Forts. See their names. 

France, Mexican schemes, 233 ; 
political events in, 309, 310 

Franklin College, 6-12 

Franklin County, legal practice 
in, 16 

Freemasons, joins the, 289 

Freeport, 111., debate between 
Lincoln and Douglas at, 161, 
162 



INDEX. 



383 



Free-Soil party, 89 

Free-Soil sctUcrs, llo, IIG . 

Fremont, John C, nominated 
for Presidency, 140 ; electoral 
vote for, 152 

French, CJapt. H. L., account of 
Toombs at second battle of 
Manassas, 261 

Fugitive-Slave law. Clay's pro- 
posed, 79 ; the Georgia plat- 
form, 86 ; indorsed by Whig 
convention at Baltimore, 97 ; 
Webster's attitude on, 100; 
allusion to, in Boston lecture, 
181 

Fugitive-Slave laws, passage of 
new, i70 ; proposed amend- 
ments, 202 ; demands of the 
South as to, 206 

Fulton, Col. M. C, narrow 
escape of, 304 

Gardnca-, James, candidate for 
governorsliip of (Georgia, 157 

Garrison, W. L., denunciation of 
U. S. Constitution, 129 

General Assembly, service in the, 
17, 30-46 ; vote for Speaker 
in, 33 

Geneva, visit to, 120 

Georgia, land-grant to Major 
Robert Toombs in, 2 ; distress 
in, 34-37 ; first railroad in, 40 ; 
internal improvements, 40 ; es- 
tablisliment of Supreme Court, 
41 ; organization of Congrcis- 
sional districts, 44 ; supports 
Jackson in 1824, 51 ; llenry 
Clay in, 55 ; panegyric on, 58 ; 
formation of " Kough and 
lt(!ady " clubs in, 60 ; the 
Clayton Compromise in, 60-62; 
formation of Constitutional 
Union party, 81, 183 ; growth 
of secession sentiment in, 83, 
201, 204 ; adoption of the 
" Georgia Platform," 86 ; nom- 
ination of Howell Cobb for 
governor, 86 ; nomination of 
McDonald for governor, 86 ; a 
national battle ground, 102 ; 



supports Pierce and King, 102, 
103 ; uncertainty of polilics in, 
121 ; breaking u[) of Know- 
nothing party in, 122; cam- 
paign of 1855, 128; vote for 
Buchanan in convention, 141 ; 
campaign of 1856, 143-152 ; 
politics in. 145; carried by Bu- 
chanan, 152 ; campaign of 1857, 
154; opposition to Brown's re- 
electit)n, 166 ; indorsement of 
Toomb.s' sentiments by, 168 ; 
position on tlie Fugitive-Slave 
law, 174 ; action of delegates 
to CHiarleston convention, 179 ; 
split in Democratic party, 182 ; 
vote in 1860, 184; i)rominencc 
in 1860, 186; call for State con- 
vention, 200 ; votes for seces- 
sion, 209 ; institution of slavery 
in, 211; wealth at time of seces- 
sion, 213 ; agricultural policy 
durinsr war, 275 ; the militia, 
27(^278 ; the Marcli to the Sea, 
280 ; Gov. Brown's address to 
people of, 290 ; Toombs' ac- 
(jnaintance in, 299; Toombs' 
return to, 315 ; in reconstruc- 
tion days, 315-:i29 ; (Constitu- 
tional convention, and the new 
constitution, 337-352 ; raiboad 
commission formed, 350, 351 

Georgia Platform, the, 83, 93, 97 

Georgia Bail road, 40 

Gettysburg and ^lalvern Hill 
compared, 252 

Gillet, li. IT., vole on Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill, 115 

Gilmer, Ge(n-ge K., as a lawyer, 
16 ; on railroad construction, 
41 

Glen Spring, Ga., meeting be- 
tween Hill and Brown at, 155 

Golphin claim, the, 65 

Gonder, Major, aids Toombs' 
escape, 294', 295 

Gordon, Gen. John B., interview 
with Tilden, 321 ; nominated 
for governor, 324 

Gordonsville, Toombs under ar- 
rest at, 259, 260 



584 



INDEX. 



Grady, Henry W., characteriza- 
tion of J. E. Brown, 156 ; at 
Bush Arbor ni('C'tin<i-, 327 ; on 
Toombs' approacliing death, 
374 

" Gray Alice," o, 2G8, 288, 292, 
297, 300, 301 

Great Britain, contention over 
Oregon qnestion, 56-59 ; ac- 
cused of lack of sympathy with 
the North, 230 

" Great Pacificator," the, 201 

Greeley, Horace, nomination op- 
posed b}^ Toombs, 105, 332 

Greene County, partition of land 
in, 8 ; legal practice in, 16 

Gresham, J. J., 179 

Gulf of Mexico, advocates mak- 
ing a mare clausum, 196 

Habersham County, escape 

tlirongli, 291 
Hagarstown, taken possession of 

by Toombs, 265 
Hale, Senator, ■ contest with 

Toombs in Kansas debate, 117- 

120 
Hallet, B. F., letter from Toombs 

to, 119 
Hamlin, Hannibal, member of 

Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 ; 

vote on Kansas-Nebraska bill, 

115 
Hardeman, Frank, 14 
Hardeman, Judge Samuel H., 26 
Harper's Ferry, John Brown's 

raid on, 169 
Harrisburg convention, demands 

protection, 51 
Harrison, W. H. , election of, 33; 

Toombs' interest in election of, 

45 
Harrison Landing, Toombs' es- 
cape by, 288 
Hayne, R. Y., challenge to Web- 
ster, 175 
Hayti, effects of emancipation 

in, 134 
Heard House, the, 282 
Hill, Benjamin H., as a lawyer, 

80 ; associated with Toombs in 



Eberhart case, 26 ; opposition 
to Toombs, 95 ; rising fame of, 
144 ; debate Avith Toombs, 144 
-152 ; nominated for govern- 
orship of Georgia, 155 ; sup- 
ports Bell and "Everett, 184; 
Vincent's cliaracterization of, 
184, 185 ; deputy to Provi- 
sional Congress, 215 ; chosen 
Confederate Senator, 241 ; ad- 
dresses meeting at Atlanta, 324, 
327 ; challenged by Stephens, 
336 

Hill. Gen. D. H., at Malvern 
Hill, 252, 253 ; charges against 
Toombs, and correspondence 
thereon, 254-258 ; character, 
258, 259 ; challenged by 
Toombs, 336 

Hilliard, Henry "W., member of 
Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 

Hillyer, Dr., assists in Toombs' 
funeral services, 375, 376 

Holt, Hiues, opposition to 
Toombs, 95 

Homestead and Exemption laws, 
38, 317, 340 

Hood, Gen. J. B., in command of 
Confederate forces, 276 

House of Representatives, U. S., 
Toombs' action on organiza- 
tion of Hou.se, Dec. 22, 1850, 
71-76 

Houston, Samuel, represents 
Texas in U. S. Senate, 68 ; 
comparison of Toombs with, 
131 

Houston County, Toombs' escape 
tlirough, 299 

Huger, Gen., 245 

Hughes, Col. David, aids 
Toombs' escape, 297 

Huling, Catharine, 3, 4 

Hunter, Robert ]M. T., member 
of Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 ; 
represents Virginia in U. S. 
Senate, 68 ; succeeds Toombs' 
as Secretary of State, 237 

Illinois, contest between Lincoln 
and Douglas in, 161, 162 ; re- 



INDEX. 



385 



Illinois. — Cont'd. 

election of Douglas to Senate, 
16o ; government control of 
railroads, 346 

Internal improvements, views on, 
188-iyi, 197; principles of 
Confederate Constitution on, 
220 

Interstate Commerce Law, Geor- 
gia's induence in framing, 351 

Intoxicating liquor, use of, 364- 
368 

Ireland, tour through, 126 

Irvin, Charles E., aids Toombs 
to escape, 287-305 ; arrested at 
Savannah, 291; war record, 305 

Jack Jones case, the, 301 

Jackson, Pres. Andrew, defeated 
by Adams, 14 ; conflict with 
Calhoun, 29 ; Toombs' vote 
for, 30 ; opposition to, by 
Troup, 31; attitude on tariif 
of 1824, 51 ; nullification proc- 
lamation, 52 ; position on in- 
ternal improvements, 188 

Jackson, Chief Justice, tribute 
to Toombs, 27, 28 

Jamaica, effects of emancipation 
in, 134 

James River, Army of Potomac 
driven back to, 24 

Jelferson, Thomas, supports the 
tariff, 48 ; detestation of party 
machinery, 106 ; position on 
internal improvements, 188 

Jelferson County, on the stump 
in, 90 

Jenkins, Charles J., as a lawyer, 
16 ; elected Speaker of House, 
General Assembly, 33 ; de- 
feated for U. S. senatorship, 
38 ; reports the " Georgia Plat- 
form," 86 ; author of the Geor- 
gia Platform, 92; 93 ; opinion 
of Berrien, 93 ; nominated for 
Vice-presidency, 99 ; career of, 
101; personal character, 102; 
disputes reconstruction meas- 
ures, 323 ; carries otf the great 
seal of Georgia, 333, 338 ; pres- 



ident of Constitutional con- 
vention, 337 ; deposed from 
governorship, 337 ; views on 
railroad question, 345 

Johnson, Andrew, member of 
Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 ; 
impeachment of, 310; Toombs' 
interview with, 313 

Johnson, Herschel V., Demo- 
cratic leader, 51; elected gov- 
ernor of Georgia, 128; leads 
Union wing of Georgia Demo- 
crats, 182 ; nominated for Vice- 
presidency, 183 ; challenged 
by Stephens, 336 

Johnson, R. M.. reunion with 
Toombs, 298, 299 

Johnson, Fort, fires on Fort 
Sumter, 227 

Johnston, Gen. Joseph E., on 
first battle of ilanassas, 238 ; 
advance on Washington, 238 ; 
withdraws from Manassas, 
239 ; heated interview with 
'J'oombs, 243 ; recognizes 
Toombs' worth, 243, 244; re 
treats behind the Chickahom- 
iny, 245 ; criticism of South- 
ern soldiers, 271 ; relieved from 
command, 276 ; struggle with 
Sherman, 280 

Jones, Gen. D. R., report of 
second battle of ]\lanassas, 
261 ; reports of Toomb.s' 
actions at Antietam, 264, 265 

Judiciary Committee, General 
Assembly, chairman of, 33, 38 

Kansas, civil war in, 115-118, 
159 ; Pierce's message on state 
of, 115. 116 

Kansas bill, opposition to, 166 

Kansas-Nebraska bill, 107-115 ; 
dissatisfaction with, in Georgia, 
143 ; Hill on, 147-149 

Kennan, A. H., deputy to Pro- 
visional Congress, 215 

Kentucky, partial secession meas- 
ures of, 233 

Kimball House Company, finan- 
cial dealings of Toombs with, 42 



386 



INDEX. 



Kinch, , sutler in Creek war, 

352 
Kuott, Pres. Eliphalet, 13 
Kuow-uotliing party. See Ameri- 
can party 

Labor, views on, 197 

Lamar, A. R., description of 
Toombs. 236, 237 

Lamar, Do Ivosset, Toombs' aid- 
de-camp, 2o7 

Lamarliiie, Toombs compared 
with, 76 

Land-jobbing, opposition to, 53 

Lane, Jacli, reunion with 
Toombs, 298, 299 

Lane, Josepli C., nominated for 
Vice-presidency, 183 

Lanier, Sidney, 284 

Lawton, A. R., supported by 
Toombs, 369 

Lecompton constitution, favored 
by Buchanan, 160 ; passes the 
Senate, 164 

Lee, Gen. Robert E., captures 
John Brown. 169 ; successes of, 
246 ; invades Maryland, 262 ; 
report of Toombs' actions at 
Antietam, 264 

Le Seur, Alexander, aids 
Toombs' escape, 288, 289 

Lewis. D. W., defeated by 
Stephens, 93 

Lexington, Ga., speech in, 92 ; 
debate between Hill and 
Stephens at, 144, 145 

Lincohi, Abraham, views on 
slavery question, 67 ; personal 
traits, 161, 162 ; opposes Doug- 
las, 161, 162 ; letter to 
Stephens, 199 ; election of, 
199 ; Toombs' views of his 
policy, 200 ; war pressure on, 

224 ; compared with Seward, 

225 ; relies on Northern unan- 
imity, 226 ; proclaims blockade 
of Southern ports, 229 ; dis- 
putes with McClellan, 239 ; 
confidence in Toombs, 367 

" Little Giant," the, 109, 161 
Longstreet, Gen., opinion of 



Toombs, 106, 241 , 271 ; quarrel 
with Toombs, 259, 2()0 ; report 
of Manassas and Maryland 
campaign, 269 ; compliments 
Toombs, 269 ; Toombs' opin- 
ion of, 325 

Lookout Mountain, last meeting 
of Davis and Toombs at, 284, 
285 

Louisiana, Calhoun's " sugar 
letter " to, 46 ; delegates leave 
Charleston convention, 177 ; 
secession of, 216 

Lumpkin, Joseph II., as a law- 
yer, 16 ; opinion of Toombs' 
legal skill, 20 

Lumpkin, murder case at, 23 

Ijyons, visit to, 136 

Lyons, Lord, British minister at 
Washington, 230 

Macon County, Toombs' escape 
through, 299 

Madi.sou, James, position on 
internal improvements, 188 

Magna Charta, lecture on, 327- 
329 

Magruder, Gen., operations on 
Warwick River, 244 ; com- 
mand on the peninsula, 245 

Mallory, S. B. , Secretary of Navy 
of Confederate States, 221 

Mallorysville, Ga., speech at, 
46 

Malvern Hill, battle of, 1, 252, 
253 

Manassas, first battle of, 238 ; 
evacuated by Confederates, 
239 ; Toombs at second battle, 
260-262 

Manufactures, argument in fa- 
vor of, 49 

March to the Sea, the, 280 

Marcy, Secretary, 231 

Marietta, speech in, 91 

Marque, letters of, 229-232 

Marseilles, visit to, 126 

Marshall, Chief Justice. 38 

Marsliall, Humphrey, duel with 
Henry Clay, 55 ; recognizes 
Toombs at New Orleans, 305 



INDEX. 



387 



Martin, Major Luther, gives 
Toombs his parole papers, 291; 
his house raided, 292 

IMaryland, invasion of, 262 

Mason, A. D., commissioner to 
Europe, 229 

Mason, James M., represents Vir- 
ginia in U. S. Senate, 68 ; reads 
Calhoun's last speech, 79, 107 

Massachusetts, power of Aboli- 
tionistsin, 109; withdraws from 
Baltimore Convention, 182 

Mattox. Col. W. H., shelters 
Toombs, 292 

Maximilian, Emperor, defeat and 
execution of, 233 

]\[ay brick. Mrs., 9 

McClellan, Gen., succeeds Mc- 
Dowell, 238 ; disputes with 
Lincoln, 239 ; marches up the 
peninsula, 244 

McDaniel, H. D., frames railroad 
law, 3^1 

McDonald, Charles J., relief 
measures of, 34-37 ; reelected, 
37 ; supports central bank 
scheme, 38 ; represents Georgia 
at Nashville convention, 85 ; 
nominated for governor, 86 ; 
Toombs on tiie nomination of, 
90 ; supported by Berrien, 93 ; 
defeated, 93 ; opposition to 
Toombs, 158 

McDowell, Gen., succeeded by 
McClellan, 238 

McDuflie, George, as a lawyer, 
16 ; Toombs' contentions witli. 
45-51 ; Democratic leader, 51 

McKennon, .resignation from 

Interior Department, 101 

McMillan, Robert, as a lawyer, 
16 ; defeated by Toombs, 93 

Mediterranean, visit to, 126 

Memminger, C. G., as a lawyer, 
21 ; Secretary of Treasury of 
Confederate States. 221 

jMerriweather, , Whiir leader, 

51 

Mexican war, fruits of, 60 

Mexico, defense of, in Texas 
question, 53 ; Toombs' opin- 



ions on conquest of, 59 ; the 
Clayton Compromise, 61 ; 
troubles over territory ac- 
quired from, 67 ; Toombs 
favors purchase of, 195 ; 
French schemes in, 233 

Might against right, 112 

Milledge, Gov. John, 7 

Milledgeville, Toombs in General 
Assembly at, 17; Toombs' prac- 
tice in, 22, 123 ; doctrine of 
States' Rights, atfirmed at con- 
vention of 1833, 52 ; conven- 
tion of 1850 at, 86 ; call for 
State convention in 1860 at, 
179 ; meeting of State Sove- 
reignty convention at in 1861, 
209 

Miller, Andrew J., 16 

JMirabeau, Toombs compared 
with, 46, 70 

Mississippi, position in .secession 
question, 97 ; delegates leave 
Charleston convention, 177 ; 
secession of, 213 

Mississippi River, views on ap- 
propriations for, 189-191 

Missouri, sends settlers to Kansas, 
115, 159 ; representation at 
Baltimore convention, 182 ; 
partial secession measures of, 
233 ; government control of 
railroads in, 346 

Missouri Compromise, refusal to 
extend the line of, 67 ; Sum- 
ner's claims for, 108 ; d(v 
nounced by Toombs, 114; 
Kill more on the repeal of, 115 

Mobile, Ala., escape through, 
301-303 

Monopolies, hatred for, 26, 348, 
349 

Monroe, Fortress, McClellan's 
arrival at, 244 ; Stephens im- 
prisoned at, 298 

Monroe, James, position on in- 
ternal improvements, 188 

Montgomery, Ala., Provisional 
Congress at, 216 

Morris Lsland fires on Sumter, 
227 



388 



INDEX. 



Morton, Oliver P., 314 

Moses, R. J., Toombs' commis- 
sary general, 237 ; account of 
dispute between Toombs and 
Gen. Hill, 256, 257 

Moultrie, Fort, tires on Fort 
Sumter, 227 

Mount Pleasant battery tires on 
Fort 8umter, 227 

Muuson's Hill, Toombs' position 
at, 238 

Naples, visit to, 126 

Nashville, convention at, 85 

National debt, views on, 197 

National Democratic party, de- 
feated, 327 ; nominates Greeley 
for Presidency, 332 

Nealimatha, insurrection of, 32 

Negroes, Toombs on the status 
of, 133-137; Toombs' treat- 
ment of his, 138, 139 ; decis- 
ion of Dred Scott case, 159 ; 
Toombs' position toward, 
after the war, 341 

New Mexico, bill to organize, 65 ; 
acquisition of, 67 ; question of 
organizing Territory, 79, 80 

New Orleans, fall of, 245 ; escape 
through, 304, 305 

Newspaper criticisms and mis- 
representations, 365, 366 

NeiD World, return to America 
on the, 313 

New York City, speech for 
Taylor in 1848, 64 

New York State, power of Aboli- 
tionists in, 109 

New York Exjn'ess, on Boston 
lecture, 131, 132 

Nicholls, Col. John C, messen- 
ger from Toombs to Brown, 
335 

Nisbet, Eugenius A., offers 
secession resolution, 209 ; dep- 
uty to Provisional Congress, 215 

Norfolk, loss of, 245 

North Carolina, supports Jack- 
son, 29 ; secedes, 233 

Northern Circuit of Georgia, the 
bar of, 16 



"Notes on the Situation," 185, 

326 
Nullification, 51, 52 

O'Brien, Rev. J. M., 362 

Ocmulgee River, watched for 
Toombs, 298 ; escape across, 
299 

Oconee River, 7, 296 

Oglethorpe, Ga., escape through, 
299 

Oglethorpe County, legal prac- 
tice in, 15, 16, 25 

Ohio, position in regard to the 
Wilmot Proviso, 60 ; power 
of Abolitionists in, 109 ; gov- 
ernment control of railroads 
in, 346 

Olin, Stephen, 9 

Omnibus bill (Clay's), 80 

Omnibus bill (State aid to rail- 
roads), opposed by Toombs, 
191 

Ordinance of Secession, 209, 214 

Oregon supports the South in 
Charleston convention, 177 

Oregon question, prominence in 
1845, 56-59 

Outlawry, Toombs' glory in, 23 

Paine, Tom., Toombs' likins: for, 

368 
Panic of 1837, 16, 31, 41 
Paris, visit to, 126 ; flight to, 308 
Payne, Henry B.; member of 

Charleston convention, 176 
Peace congress, 234 
Peace resolutions, 273 
PeachTree Creek, in battle at, 276 
Pennsylvania, government con- 
trol of railroads, 346 
Pension grabs, views on, 192, 

193, 197 
Peter's Colony Grant. 152 
Phillips, Wendell, oratory of, 129 
Pickens, Gov., Democratic leader. 

51 ; notified in regard to Fort 

Sumter, 224 
Pierce, Bishop Geo. F., 10. 11, 376 
Pierce, Pres. Franklin, Toombs' 

estimate of, 367 ; message on 



INDEX. 



389 



Pierce, Pres. Franklin — Cont'd. 
state of Kansas, 115, 116; ve- 
toes Mississippi River bill, 191 

Polk, Pres. James K., attitude 
toward protection, 50 ; Geor- 
gia's vote for, 55 ; position on 
Oregon question, 57 ; forced to 
retire from Oregon position, 
59 ; veto of River and Harbor 
bill, 188 ; vetoes supported by 
Toombs, 191 

Pope, Sarah, 3 

Pope, , death of, and gener- 
osity of Toombs to his family, 
359, 360 

Pope, Gen., driven from Vir- 
ginia, 263 

Popular sovereignty, Douglas' 
doctrine of, 162-164 

Postal service, views on, 197 

Pottle, Judge E. FI., 25, 26 

" Pour it back in the jug," 
352 

Prather, Col., shelters Toombs, 
390 

Prentiss, Sergeant S. , vanquished 
in debate % Davis, 163 

Presidential vote, Toombs' views 
on counting, 193 

Principles of Magna Charta, lec- 
ture, 327-339 

Privateers, 329-233 

Produce Loan, the, 236 

Prohibitionists, Toombs' opinion 
of, 374 

Protection, defense of, 48-50 ; in 
campaign of 1844, 51 

Provisional Congress of seceded 
States, 214-218 

Pulaski, Fort, seized by Gov. 
Brown, 314 

Railroad Commission of Georgia, 
350, 351 ; Toombs' appear- 
ance before, 363 

Railroad corporations, Toombs' 
attitude toward, 342, 345-351 

Randall, S. J., proposes General 
Amnesty Act, 313 

Randolph, John, duel with 
Henry Clay, 55 



Rapidan River, Confederate re- 
tirement along, 239 ; Toombs' 
brigade at the, 259 

Rappahannock River, Confeder- 
ates retire behind, 239 

Reagan, J. H., Postmaster Gen- 
eral of Confederate States, 331 ; 
recognizes Toombs' merits, 
370 ; last attendance at Con- 
federate Cabinet, 383 

Reconstruction Acts, views on, 
325, 336 

Reese, Judge William M. , • on 
the practice of law, 15 ; descrip- 
tion of Toombs by, 34 ; opinion 
of Toombs' speeches, 329, 330 ; 
frames railroad law, 351 

Religion, liberality in matters of, 
124, 125 

Republican party, formation of, 
140 ; growing strength of, 161 ; 
arraigned by Toombs, 173- 
174, 303 ; opposition to, in 
Georgia, 334 

Repudiation, 343, 344 

Rhett, R. Barnwell, Democratic 
leader, 51 ; member of Twenty- 
ninth Congress, 56 

Rhine, voyage down the, 136 

Richmond, Va., call for conven- 
tion in, 178 ; chosen as capital 
of Confederacy, 333 ; Mc- 
Clellan's march on. 344 ; 
Toombs at defense of, 345, 
246 

Right to bear arms, views on, 
340 

River and Harbor bills, views 
on, 188-191 

Roanoke, plantation at, 33, 330 

Roman, A. B., Confederate com- 
missioner to Washington, 222 

Roman Catholic Church, 
Toombs' liberality toward, 
124 

Rome, visit to, 126 

Rost, A. P., commissioner to 
Europe, 229 

"Rough and Ready" clubs, 
60 

Russia supports the North, 233 



390 



INDEX. 



Sanders, Miss, 3 

Savannah, siege of, 279; arrest of 
Irvin at, 291 

Savannah River, views on clear- 
intr, 188; Toombs' escape by, 
288 

" Scarlet Letter," the, 178 

Schenectady, college course at, 
13 

Scotland, tour through, 126 

Scott, Gen. Wiutield, service un- 
der, 32; op])ositi()n to, by 
Southern Whigs, 98; Toombs' 
estimate of, 98, 99; defeats 
Webster, 100; vote for, in 
1852, 103; rupture of Wiiig 
party in Georgia on his nomi- 
nation, 121; opinion of Fort 
Sumter, 223 

Secession, clamor for, 83, 201; 
assertion of right of, 87; 
Toombs charged with foment- 
ing, 94; foreseen by Toombs, 
200; Toombs committed to the 
policy, 203; Georgia's vote for, 
209; passage of Ordinance of, 
209 

Sevviird, William H., enters the 
U. S. Senate, 68, 107; an "In- 
dependent Democrat," 109; 
vote on Kansas-Nebraska bill, 
115; refuses audience to (^on- 
federate commissioners, 222; 
views on evacuation of Fort 
Sumter, 222, 223; compared 
with Lincoln, 225; jiccuses 
Great Uritain of lack of sym- 
pathy, 230; diplomacy of, 
233 

Seymour, Horatio, nominated 
for Presidency, 324 

Sharpsburg, battle of, 263-269 

Sherman, W. T., March to the 
Sea, 280 

" Siamese Twins," the, 182 

Simpson, W. W., reunion with 
Toombs, 298. 299 

Slaughter, James M., letter from 
Yancey to, 177, 178 

Slavery, Gabriel Toombs' treat- 
ment of negroes, 3; arraign- 



ment of Calhoun for the 
"sugar letter," 46; Toombs' 
attitude toward, 46, 47, 48; the 
Clayton Compromise, 61, 64; 
Lincoln's views on, 67, 162; 
Toombs' actions and speeches 
on slaverj^ in Territories, 69, 
76-81, 164, 166, 167, 181; Clay's 
resolutions to abolish, in Dis- 
trict of Columbia. 79 ; protest 
against admission of California 
by Nashville convention, H5; 
Toombs accused of unsound- 
ness on the question of, 85; the 
Georgia Platform, 86; Toombs' 
iileas on exclusion of, from 
California, 91; the Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill, 108-115; provi- 
sions for, in U. S. Constitution, 
114; question reopened by 
Kansa.s-Nebraskabill, 114; lec- 
ture in Boston on, 129-135; 
Toombs on the status of the 
negro, 133-137; decision of 
Dred Scott case, 159; Southern 
view of Dred Scott decision 
as affecting Territories, 162; 
Douglas' views on, in Terri- 
tories. 163, 164; anxiety in the 
South for protection of, 1()5; 
demand for new plank in plat- 
form of Democratic party, 167; 
deadlock on, in Charleston 
convention, 177; Lincoln's let- 
ter to Stephens, 199; tendency 
toward extinction, 199; meas- 
ures before the House, 202; the 
Ch-ittenden Conq^romise, 202, 
203; demands of the South as 
to, 206; institution in Georgia, 
211 

Slidell, John, member of Twen- 
ty-ninth Congress, 56; leader in 
U. S. Senate. 107 

Smith, Col. Jack, aids Toombs' 
escape, 295 

Smith, Col. Marshal J., aids 
Toombs' escape, 305 

Smith, George W., 242 

South, .stability of social institu- 
tions in, 138; demands of the, 



INDEX. 



391 



South — Cont'd. 
as set forth by Toombs, 205- 
208; sacrifices by secession, 213 

South Carolina, condemnation of 
scliool of politics of, 53; sup- 
ports Pierce, 103; Hayne's 
challenge to Webster, 175; 
secession of, 213 

Southern Methodist Cliurch, 
Toombs' communion with, 373 

Southern Rights party, nominates 
Troup for Presidency, 103 

Sparta, Ga., Toombs' escape by, 
293, 298 

Speeches, i, iv, 18, 20, 21, 23- 
25, 27, 28, 46-50, 57, 59, 64, 
69-78, 85, 88, 89, 91, 92, 98, 
99, 103-105, 109-118, 145- 
152, 165-168, 170-174, 176, 
177, 187-193, 205 208, 236, 237, 
317, 318, 324-326, 329. 331, 
336, 348, 349, 369, 370 

Squatter sovereignty, 153; Doug- 
las' views on, 160, 162; 
Toombs' opposition to, 166, 
167; before Charleston con- 
vention, 177 

Stanton, Edwin M., orders 
arrests of Confederate leaders, 
286 

State Railroad of Georgia, sup- 
ported by Toombs, 192 

State Sovereignty convention, 
209 

States' Rights, doctrine affirmed 
at Mill(!dgeville, 52 ; Toomlts' 
charactcriziition of the Clayton 
Compromise, 61 ; speeches and 
views on, 69, 70, 76-78, 88, 
110-114, 116-119, 133; claims 
by Nashville convention, 85 ; 
the Cincinnati Platform, 141 ; 
Hill on, 148. 

States' Rights party, in campaign 
of 1844, 51 ; nominates Troup 
for Presidency, 102. 

States' Rights Wiiigs, joined 
by Toombs, 30 ; policy of, 31, 

Steiner, Dr. Henry H., 119, 243 ; 
influence over Toombs, 249 ; 
talks with Toombs on spiritual 



condition, 372, 373 ; attends 
Toombs at the last. 374, 375 

Stephens, Alexander H., his tu- 
tor, 6 ; as a lawyer, 16 ; com- 
pared with Toombs, 18, 20, 43; 
opinion of Toombs' legal skill, 
20 ; friendship with Toombs, 
43 ; position on slavery ques- 
tion, 44 ; elected to Congress, 
44, 55, 56, 63, 122, 333 ; Whig 
leader, 51 ; leads campaign of 
1848 in Georgia, 60 ; (jmirrel 
with Cone, 62 ; reported lu])- 
ture between Pres. Taylor and, 
64, 65 ; description of Toombs 
in debate, 75, 76 ; position on 
admission of California, 81; po- 
sition on disunion, 82; sent to 
conventio!iat Milledgeville, 86; 
personality of, 90; Toombs' de- 
.scription of, 91 ; in campaign 
of 1851, 92 ; defeats Lewis. 93 ; 
on the Compromise of 1850, 98; 
nominated for Congress by 
Toombs, 105, 333 ; breaks up 
Know-nothing party in Geor- 
gia, 122 ; debate with Hill, 144, 
145 ; on Cincinnati Platform, 
165 ; opinion on action of 
Charleston convention, 179 ; 
supports Douglas for Presi- 
dency, 183 ; Vincent's char- 
acterization of, 184, 185 ; prom- 
inence of, 186 ; letter from 
liincolu to, 199 ; views of .se- 
cession, 212 ; deputy to Pro- 
visional Congress, 215 ; opin- 
ion of Provisional (-'oniiress, 
216 ; Toombs' eulogy of," 216 ; 
ojjposes Conscription and Im- 
pressment Acts, 273 ; arrested, 
286 ; imprisoned at Fortress 
Monroe, 298 ; defeated by 
Gordon, 333 ; becomes Gov- 
ernor of Georgia, 333 ; chal- 
lenges Johnson and Hill, 336 ; 
funeral of, 371, 372 ; tribute to 
Toombs, 375 

Stephens, Linton, opinion of 
Toombs, 26 ; opposes Conscript 
Acts, 273 ; introtluces peace 



392 



m^DEX. 



Stephens, Linton — Confd. 
resolutions, 273 ; career, 374 ; 
aids Toombs' escape, 293 ; re- 
union with Tooml)s, 298, 299 ; 
disputes reconstruction meas- 
ures, 323 ; activity in recon- 
struction times, 333 

Stewart County, Toombs' escape 
through, 301 

Stump-spealiing, 145 

Bubtreasury system, the, 31, 
38 

Sumner, Charles, leader in U. S. 
Senate, 107 ; opposes Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, 108, 115; an " In- 
dependent Democrat," 109 ; de- 
nounced by Toombs, 110 ; 
enmity to Southern propagand- 
ism, 129 ; Brooks' assault on, 
141, 142 

Sumter, Fort, Confederate de- 
mand for surrender of, 222 ; 
abandonment favored by Lin- 
coln's Cabinet, 223 ; prepara- 
tions to provision, 224 ; orders 
to Beauregard, 225 ; bombard- 
ment of, 227-229 

Superstition, Toombs' views on, 
367 

Supreme Court of Georgia, prac- 
tice in, 20-22, 24, 25 ; "establish- 
ment of, 41 

Suretyship, opposition to con- 
tracts of, 41, 42 

Swedenborg, Toombs' fondness 
for, 368 

Swinton, William, on Lincoln's 
administration, 272 

Taliaferro County, assigned to 
Seventh Congressional Dis- 
trict, 44 

Taney, Roger B., decision in 
Dred Scott case, 159 

Tariff, Whigs fnvor protective, 
31 ; defense of the, 48-50 ; Iti 
campaign of 1844, 51 ; modi- 
fied in 1832, 52 ; Toombs' 
attitude on, 52 ; prominence 
of the question in 1845, 56 ; 
bill of 1846, 59 



Taxation, attitude on Georgia, 
54 

Taylor, Gen. Dick, on Toombs' 
energy, 279, 280 

Taylor, Zachary, nominated for 
President, 60 ; elected. 63 ; 
attitude of Cabinet toward the 
South, 64 ; reported rupture 
with Toombs and Stephens, 64, 
65 ; death, 65 ; opinion on dis- 
position of acquired terrilorj^ 
67 ; Toombs' opinion of, 367 

Tennessee secedes, 233 

Territories, Toombs' position on 
slavery in, 69, 76-78, 80, 132, 
166, 167, 181 ; protest by 
Nashville convention in regard 
to, 85 ; the Georgia Platform, 
86 ; the slavery question in 
the, 87 ; third great sectional 
fight on the, 107-115 ; Toombs 
on Federal power over. 111, 
132, 133 ; the Cincinnati Plat- 
form, 141 ; Hill on rights of, 
148 ; Buchanan's position on 
question of, 159 ; Douglas' 
views on admission of, 160 ; 
Southern view of Dred Scott 
decision as affecting slavery in, 
162 ; Buchanan's resolution in 
Cincinnati Platform, 165; con- 
test over slavery in. in Charles- 
ton convention, 177 ; demands 
of the South as to, 206 

Texas, Toombs' attitude on an- 
nexation of, 53 : prominence of 
question in 1845, 56 ; Toombs' 
purchase of lands in, 152, 153 ; 
visit to, 153 ; delegates leave 
Charleston convention, 177 

Texas and New Mexico bill, 
pas.sed, 80 

" The Crime against Kansas," 
142 

Thomas, Tliomas W., as a 
lawyer, 16 ; leader of campaign 
of 1848 in Georgia, 60 ; on 
Toombs' characteristics, 272 

Thompson, Jacob, member of 
the Twenty-ninth Congress, 
56 ; leader in U. S. Senate, 107 



INDEX. 



393 



Tildeu, S. J., interview with 

Geu. Gordon, 321 
Times (London), on bombard- 
ment of Sumter, 228, 229 
Tobacco, Toombs' use of,' 360, 

361 
Toombs, Ann, 3 
Toombs, Augustus, 3 
Toombs, Dawson Gabriel, 3 
Toombs, Gabriel, Sr., 1-3 
Toombs, Gabriel, Jr., 4; mana- 
ger of his brother's plantations, 
275 ; at his brother's bedside, 
373 ; resemblance to Robert, 
373 
Toombs, James, 3 
Toombs, Louise, death of, 312 
Toombs, Gen. Robert, ancestry, 
1-4 ; birth, 4 ; filial affection, 
4; boyhood and education, 4- 
12 ; horsemanship, 4^6 ; his- 
torical learning, 6 ; play upon 
his name, 6 ; generosity, 10, 
124, 283, 2S4, 357 ; joins Meth- 
odist Church, 11, 373 ; trustee 
of State University, 11 ; col- 
lege legends of, 12 ; receives 
degree, 13 ; admitted to the 
bar, 13 ; marriage, 14 ; legal 
career, 13-28 ; legal ethics, 18, 
19, 23 ; oratorical powers, 18, 
21, 23-25, 27, 28; financial 
ability, 23, 59, 152. 220, 310, 
302 ; morality, 23, 24 ; Reese's 
opinion of 24 ; justice of, 26, 
27 ; failing powers, 27 ; bril- 
liant plea of, 28 ; entrance into 
politics, 30 ; elected to General 
Assembly, 30 ; popularity in 
Wilkes County, 32 ; chairman 
of Judiciary Committee in 
General Assembly, 33, 38 ; ac- 
tion on Gov. McDonald's relief 
measures, 34-37 ; financial pol- 
icy, 35-39 ; defends Berrien, 
39 ; support of railroad enter- 
prise, 40 ; compared with A. 
H. Stephens, 43 ; friendship 
of the two, 43 ; first participa- 
tion in national politics, 45 ; 
contentious with McDuffie, 45- 



51; charged with being an 
Abolitionist, 46 ; compared to 
jNlirabeau, 46 ; delegate to Clay 
convention of 1844, 40 ; op- 
poses acquisition of Texas, 53 ; 
sent to Congress, 55, 56, 63, 
93 ; position on Oregon ques- 
tion, 57 ; leads in campaign of 
1848 in Georgia, 60 ; reported 
rupture between Pres. Taylor 
and, 64, 65 ; leads Southern 
members from Whig caucus, 
69 ; personal appearance, 72, 
74, 89, 90, 130 ; domestic char- 
acter, 82, 353-363 ; address to 
people of Georgia, 83-85 ; sent 
to convention at Milledgeville, 
86 ; renominated for Congress, 
87 ; prominence in campaign 
of 1850, 87, 88; position on 
the Union question, 88 ; a 
journalist's description of, 91; 
elected U. S. Senator, 94, 158; 
charged with fomenling se- 
cession, 94 ; letters to his 
wife, 95, 123-125, 158, 239, 
242, 277, 278, 310-313, 354, 
355, 359, 360 ; feeling toward 
the North, 98 ; friendship 
for Webster, 101 ; becomes a 
Democrat, 105 ; independence 
of, 106 ; enters U. S. Senate, 
107 ; frequently misquoted, 
119 ; horror of civil war, 120 ; 
death of his daughters, 123, 
310, 313 ; Europeali trip, 123, 
125-128 ; liberality in matters 
of conscience, 125 ; physical 
strength, 125, 127; international 
reputation, 126 ; knowledge of 
human nature. 127 ; treatment 
of slaves, 138, 139 ; accused of 
participation in assault on 
Sumner, 142, 143 ; debate with 
Hill. 144-152 ; accused of being 
a turncoat and disunionist, 151 ; 
address to Northern Democrats, 
176, 177 ; letter to Macon com- 
mittee, 179," 180 ; advice on 
Charleston convention matters, 
180, 181 ; fears for the Consti- 



394 



INDEX. 



Toombs, Gen. Robert — Cont'd. 
tiiliou, 180, 182 ; rupture with 
Douglas, 181 ; delegate to 
Democratic State convention, 
183 ; Vincent's characterization 
of, 184, 185 ; charges of deser- 
tion of Douglas. 186; Presiden- 
tial ambitions, 186, 187 ; activ- 
ity in public duty, 187; tirst 
public office, l'J2 ; accused by 
Georgia " minute-men," 201 ; 
■withdrawal from the Senate, 
205-208 ; chairman of Commit- 
tee on Foreign Relations, 214 ; 
writes address to people of 
Georgia, 215; deputy to Pro- 
visional Congress, 215 ; a can- 
didate for Presidency of South- 
ern Confederacy, 216 ; machi- 
nations against, 218; curious 
incidents in life of. 219 ; chair- 
man of Finance Committee of 
Provisional Congress, 220 ; 
made Secretary of State, 221 ; 
opposes assault on Sumter, 22(5; 
triimiphs of diplomacy, 230 ; 
joins the army, 235 ; speech on 
the produce loan, 236, 237 ; 
the archives of the Confederacy, 
237 ; retreat from Centreville, 

239 ; care of his brigade, 240 ; 
impatience of mismanagement, 

240 ; elected Confederate Sen- 
ator, 241 ; declines Secretary- 
ship of War, 242 ; impatience 
under red tape, 234, 243 ; de- 
bate with Davis on Army Ap- 
propriation bill, 247-249 ; use 
of liquor, 249, 250 ; position on 
the peninsula, 250 ; action at 
Golding's farm, 250, 251 ; at 
Malvern Hill, 252, 253 ; charges 
of cowardice, and correspond- 
ence thereon, 254-258 ; quarrel 
with Longstreet, 259, 260 ; un- 
der arrest at Gordonsville, 259, 
260 ; in second battle of ]\Ianas- 
sas, 261, 262 ; report of actions 
at Antietam, 265-268 ; wound- 
ed, 268, 269 ; popularity among 
his troops, 269 ; leaves the 



army, 269, 270 ; reasons for his 
non-promotion, 270, 271 ; mili- 
tary abilities, 271 ; with the 
militia, 276-279 ; declines gov- 
ernorship, 273 ; energy of, 279, 

280 ; parting with Gov. Brown, 

281 ; action at close of war, 
281 ; last meeting with Davis, 
284, 285 ; escape, 286-307 ; be- 
comes a Freemason, 289 ; con- 
versational powers, 305, 306, 
310, 358, 359 ; dread of cap- 
ture, 806 ; vivacity, 306; arriv- 
al in Cuba, 307; arrival in 
Paris, 308 ; sells land, 308 ; in 
exile, 309-313 ; returns to 
America, 312, 313; unrecon- 
structed, 313 ; return to Geor- 
gia, 315 ; resumes practice 
of law, 316 ; in reconstruc- 
tion days, 315-329 ; master 
of invective, 318-322, 326 ; 
before the Supreme Court of 
Georgia, 320, 321 ; opinion of 
Yankees. 322 ; zeal, 322, 323 ; 
addresses meeting at Atlanta, 
324-326 ; fondness for farm- 
ing, 330, 331 ; strained rela- 
tions with Brown, 333-336 ; a 
believer in the code of honor, 
336 ; the Constitutional con- 
vention, and the new constitu- 
tion, 337-352 ; pays expenses 
of Constitutional convention, 
344, 345 ; golden wedding, 
356, 357 ; hospitality, 357, 358 ; 
sympathies of, 359, 360 ; last 
appearance in court, 361, 362 ; 
wealth, 362, 363; his creat 
fault, 364-368 ; love of litera- 
ture, 367, 368 ; last days, 369 
-375 ; attends Stephens' fu- 
neral, 371, 372 ; at wife's 
death-bed, 372, 373 ; bai)tized, 
373; death and burial, 375. 
376 ; his monument, 376 

Toondis, Major Robert. 2, 3 
Toombs, Mrs., friendship for A. 
H. Stephens, 62 ; aids her hus- 
band's escape, 286, 287 ; joins 
Iier husband in Paris, 309; re- 



INDEX. 



39^ 



Toombs, Mrs. — Cont'd. 

turns to America, 310 ; char- 
acter, 356, 357 ; accident to, 
356 ; golden wedding, 356, 357 ; 
death, 373, 373 

Toombs, William, 2 

Toombs oak, the, 12 

Toucey, , leader In U. S. 

Senate, 107 

Towns, Gov., calls State conven- 
tion, 83 

Tremont Temple, Boston, lec- 
ture on slavery in, 129-135 

Trinity River, Toombs' lauds on, 
152 

Troup, George M.. defender of 
States' Rights, 30, 31 ; opposi- 
tion to Jackson's measures, 31 ; 
altitude on the taritf question, 
51 ; opposes Toombs in cam- 
paign of 1844, 53 

Troup, Capt., on Toombs' staff, 
268 

Tugaloo River, 290 

Turncoats, Crawford's ideas of, 91 

Tyler, Pres., Toombs on, 367 

Union College, 13 

Union Democratic-Republican 
party, 30 

United States Bank, supported 
by Berrien, 39 ; defense of, 48 

United States Constitution, posi- 
tion on slavery, 132 

United States judges, higher pay 
for, supported by Toombs, 192 

United States Senate, personnel in 
1853, 107 ; debate on popular 
sovereignty, 163, 164 ; farewell 
spe(!ch'iu, 205-208 

University of Georgia, 6-12 ; 
annual address at, 331, 332 

Univei-sity of Virginia, course at, 
13 

Utah, acquisition of, 67 ; ques- 
tion of organization of Terri- 
tory, 79 

Van Buren, Pres. Martin, cen- 
sured by Toombs. 31 ; Toombs 
on. 367 



Vandyke, John, opposes Toombs 
in House of Representatives, 72 

Vincent, characterization of 
Toombs, Hill, and Stephens, 
184, 185 

Virginia. , settlement of the 

Toombs family in. 2 ; sup- 
ports Calhoun, 29; Brown' 
raid into, 169, 170 ; secedes, 
233 

Waddell, Pres. Moses, 8, 9 

Wade, , vote on Kausa.s-Ne- 

bra-skabill, 115 

Walker, Levi P., Secretary of 
War of Confederate Slntcs, 
221 ; in.structions to Beaure- 
gard about Fort Sumter, 224, 
225 

Walker, Robert J., governor of 
Kansas, 160 

Walker, Gen. W. H. T., dispute 
with Gen. Hill at Chicka- 
mauga, 258, 259 

Walthall, Gen. E. C, 277 

AV'ar, Toombs' views on, 57 

" War between the States," 75, 
98, 185, 371 

Warner, Hiram, opinion of 
Homestead and Exemption 
laws, 318 

Warwick River, Toombs' opera- 
tions on, 244 

Washington, D. C. imperiled 
after lirst battle of IManassas, 
238 ; Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia advances on, 262 

Washington, Ga., Mrs. Toombs' 
residence at, 4 ; distinguished 
men around, 16 ; speech at, 98, 
99 ; debate between Toombs 
and Hill at, 144-152 ; Toombs 
elected commissioner, 192 ; the 
Toombs home at, 360 

Washington County, escape 
through, 299 

Waterloo, visit to field of, 126 

Webster, Rev. Alexander, 6 

Webster, Daniel, compared with 
Toombs, 14 : last efl'orts of, 
68 ; great Union speech of, 79 ; 



y96 



INDEX. 






Webster, Daniel — ConVd. 

tribute to, 99, 104, 367 ; nomi- 
nated for Presidency, 99 ; ad- 
miration for, in the South, 
100 ; Secretary of State, 100 ; 
friendsliip witli Toombs, 101 ; 
death, 102, 107 ; Hayne's clial- 
lenge to, 175 ; his loss felt, 
201 

Wellborn, Speaker, 89 

Wesleyan Female College, 9 

Western and Atlantic Railroad, 
40 

West Indies, effects of emanci- 
pation in, 134, 137 

West Point, Toombs' opinion of 
training at, 246-249 ; criticism 
of ofHcers from, 273 ; criticism 
not sustained, 275 

Wheeler, Gen. Joseph, 801, 803 

Whig' party, demand internal 
improvements, 40 ; attitude 
toward protection, 46 ; in 
campaign of 1844, 51, 55 ; posi- 
tion in campaign of 1848, 60 ; 
caucus of 1845, 68-70 ; joint 
action with Democrats in 
Georgia, 85 ; convention at 
Baltimore, 97 ; Southern oppo- 
sition to Presidential candidate 
Scott, 98 ; nominates Webster 
for Presidency, 99 ; break in, 
by Southern members, 100 ; 
Toombs' defection from, 105 ; 
rupture over Scott's nomina- 
tion, 121 ; al)Sorption into Re- 
publican party, 140 

Wilde, Gen., attempts the cap- 
ture of Toombs, 286 

Wilkes County, land-grant to 
Major Robert Toombs in, 2 ; 



partition of lands in, 3 ; birth- 
place of Gen. Toombs, 4 ; lecal 
practice in, 15, 16, 22, 23; 
factions in, 29. ;i0 ; politics of, 
32 ; defeat of Whigs in, 37 ; 
assigned to Eighth Congres- 
sional District, 44 

Wilkinson County, escape 
through, 296 

Willington, S. C, speech at, 45 

Wilmot, David, member of 
Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 

Wilmot Proviso, Ohio's position 
in regard to, 60 ; menace to the 
Soutii, 70, 79 ; abandoned, 79, 
87 : Webster's attitude on, 99, 
100 ; how characterized by 
Toombs, 149 

Wingtield, J. T., 288 

Winthrop, Robert C, member of 
Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 ; 
defeated for Speakership. G9 

Wiscon,sin, debate on counting 
Electoral vote, 193, 194 

Wolseley, Gen., on Sherman's in- 
vasion of Georgia, 281 

Worth, Fort, meeting with squat- 
ters at, 153, 154 

Wright, A. R. , deputy to Pro- 
visional Congress, 215 

Yancey, William L., member of 
Twenty-ninth Congress, 56 ; 
leads seceders from Charleston 
convention, 177; letter to 
Slaughter, 177, 178 ; speech in 
Charleston, 178 ; commissioner 
to Europe, 229 

Yorktown, Toombs' operations 
at, 244, 245 

" Young Alice," 300 



"^-"O^r^ 



l^'S^^'' 



